


Devil of the Classroom

by DreamlitexSproutling



Category: Vocaloid
Genre: Drama, Friendship, Other, School Drama, School Life, based off a Japanese drama
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-29
Updated: 2020-11-06
Packaged: 2021-03-01 20:47:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 24
Words: 67,038
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23903344
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DreamlitexSproutling/pseuds/DreamlitexSproutling
Summary: Story repost with heavy revision!!Story following plotline of Queen's Classroom, but with vocaloidsIn the last year of junior high school, an entire class finds themselves challenged and threatened by their new teacher, who refuses to go easy on them and seemingly knows all of their secrets.(Each chapter, I'll explain every change made in the story)
Comments: 6
Kudos: 10





	1. Start of a New Year

**Author's Note:**

> Copy+paste from FFnet post because I'm lazy:
> 
> Hello! Do you remember this fic? Did you noticed I deleted this 60 something chapter long fanfic just to rewrite it and post it all again? Did you... No? Okay.
> 
> Hello, I originally posted this fanfic for the first time five years ago, in February 2015. Between then and last month, I had posted 65 (I think chapters). I couldn't post often due to school, but now, we're in quarantine, I've graduated, and I'm now home all the time. The last time I updated this fic, I said I would take a break from it. The core reason was that there were some things I included in the original story that I no longer like and didn't want to write about when it came to updating this story. The simple solution would have been to just not write it, but then it'd mean I'd potentially end the story with some plot-holes and I didn't want that...
> 
> So I deleted the story, decided to rewrite it from the beginning and repost every chapter but with heavy revision. Yes, it's very heavy revising because, with five years having passed, it means more vocaloids came out, and as I got older, I opened up to voiceroid and CeVio, so I made some changes. The teacher is a different vocaloid, not Mayu anymore. Some students change. The classroom is bigger just because it came to my attention that some middle school classrooms are big, like pretty large, and when I imagine the setting to be in a city, it'd probably make sense that the school has more classrooms and students. Of course, only a few students get the most focus...
> 
> As I progress through the story, I'll continue to state in the end what other changes have been made. However, Gumi, Kokone, SeeU... they're still the same. With that being said, take care and stay safe!
> 
> (not copy+paste, I'll use the end notes to explain changes and why)

When the time came for the first day of school to begin, a sense of anxiety attacked, and with the first day of grade nine, it came especially harder, as students felt the pressure to get out and pursue the future they desired. On that morning, for the start of her new year, Gumi searched frantically in the mess of her home, desperate to find a notebook holding the papers she needed to hand in for her school. With the search growing more frantic and time ticking away, she cursed under her breath. She knew her parents would have forgotten to clean up, even for a little, as they had grown so heavily consumed by their lives and anger for three and a half years. For all Gumi knew, it was likely her parents forgot that their remaining child was growing up, despite their belief that she was still little.

Being fully focused on her search, the sounds of her ringing phone and doorbell signals were absent to her, leaving the visitor with no choice but to walk in and investigate.

“Gumi?” The visitor cried out, unsurprised with the overload of bottles and scraps of paper that decorated the floor. Hearing the books hit the hardwood floor in a near room, the visitor stepped closer, seeing her friend dig furiously among a pile of books and binders. “Gumi!”

The sweet voice of concern finally catching her attention, Gumi quickly turned, ready to confront the uninvited guest, only to then relax, recognizing the girl wearing the same uniform as her. 

“Good morning, Kokone,” Gumi greeted her best friend. “You could have rang the doorbell or call me instead of walking in like that,” she giggled quietly, embarrassed that her friend was witnessing what could be best described as ‘being hit by a tornado’ in her home.

‘Did she even… did she not hear either?’ Kokone thought sourly in her head before shrugging, heading straight to the next topic. “What are you doing?”

“You know that notebook, where I store the papers my parents are supposed to see and sign for the homeroom teacher?” Gumi asked, to begin her explanation.

“Yeah…”

“And how I just forge my parents’ writing and store the papers in a binder and leave it on the table-”

“Just get to the point.”

“I lost it.”

As Gumi casually twiddled with her fingers while ending her sentence, Kokone couldn’t stop herself from bringing her hands to her forehead in disbelief.

“Gumi, we’re in our third year now,” she began to lecture. “Have you not learned anything?”

“I’m sorry!” Gumi cried out. “Just please, help me find it, okay?” Before Kokone could reply, a blue book caught her eye, and she walked towards it, removing the unneeded papers that lied on top of it. She sighed as she held the book up for Gumi to see.

“How do you find it so fast!?” Gumi cheered with glee, rushing towards her and hugging Kokone with no pause in sight.

“Alright, Gumi, we need to go now,” said Kokone. “It’s the first day of school. We need to make a good impression because next year, we’ll be in high school.”

xxx

"Both of you eat quickly."

In another household, two sisters ate their breakfast made for them by their mother. The older girl was in her senior year of high school, a gorgeous teenager with long, silky, pink hair tied in a single side ponytail, and she was dressed in her uniform, different from the one who sat next to her. The younger sister had a rather cute face and long, wavy hair that fell beyond her waist. While the older sister wore a plaid skirt and a vest on top of her buttoned shirt, the younger sister wore a sailor uniform, as well as she wore her headband decorated with cat ears, as it was too precious for her to not wear.

"So you're now in your last year of junior high school…" The older girl whispered to her younger sister after swallowing a small bit of her pancakes. Turning her head to the right towards the blonde girl, she questioned, "Who is your homeroom teacher?"

"No clue," her younger sister responded back, then went to take another bite from her bagel. After a moment of chewing her delicious food, she swallowed and continued. "I will find out who my teacher is when I get there today."

"Isn't there a new teacher in your school today?" The girls' mother asked happily while pouring coffee into her mug. "I heard something from Mrs. Itou that a new teacher is coming." The woman with hair as long as her daughters, tied by a green ribbon, came to the table and placed more pancakes for her daughters to eat. While doing so, the woman continued on with her gossip. "She said it is a veteran teacher who is excellent, despite being away for two years and recently coming back to teaching this year." Right after saying those words, the woman remembered seeing something relating to her topic.

The mother goes to grab a newspaper nearby and returns to her daughters, holding it out for them to see. She points to them a name circled in red marker. "It is this person," she tells her two daughters. The two teenagers read the name that had been circled.

"Miura Mayuko?" The younger one read quietly with curiosity in her voice.

"Mrs. Itou also told me that the students in her class have their grades improved. Most of them go on to attend a private school." The woman then looks at her younger daughter with a bright smile on her face. "It would be nice if she is your teacher this year, SeeU. You will definitely get into a private school just like Uni."

SeeU did not want to be reminded of private school. Every day, she was nagged by her mother to always do her best and to succeed, to get into the best school and have a successful future. The girl's grades were not bad, but in comparison to her older sister, Uni, they were not fantastic either. Kasumi wished for her younger daughter to excel and have a great education, hoping she would have the life she abandoned.

"SeeU," Uni whispered to her younger sister. "If she is your teacher, then you will be spending a year in hell." Upon hearing those words, SeeU turned to her sister. "Why?" SeeU grew more curious to what her sister was saying. Despite being constantly compared to her older sister, SeeU had a healthy, happy relationship with Uni and was pleased to have her as her sister. At the moment, Uni telling her that having Ms. Miura for a teacher is a year of hell has left the blonde growing interested.

"In my high school, there is a student who had her as a teacher before." Uni started to tell her younger sister, who is listening intently. "They told me something. In Miura's class…" then Uni's words grew slightly eerie as she continued. "Unbelievable, awful things happen all the time." SeeU's sky colored orbs show a mix of interest and small fear. She wanted to know much more. SeeU was interested to learn what it would be like to have Ms. Miura for a teacher.

"Awful things? Unbelievable things?" The blonde apprehensively asked her sister.

"Do you want to know?"

"I do want to know, sis."

Slowly, Uni leaned towards SeeU's face, her breath hitting the younger girl's nose. For a moment, she had opened her mouth to go on. Then, quickly, she turned back to her food.

"I'll stop."

"Eh?"

"If you hear it, you will soak your underwear and maybe even your skirt."

"What!?" SeeU's heart dropped a bit. The girl was dying to know more. "Tell me, sis! Please tell me!" She grabbed onto the older girl's arm, begging her to say more. Rather than allowing herself into her sister's whining, Uni continued on with her meal, ignoring the girl next to her.

"What are you two doing? If you don't hurry, you both will be late for school." Kasumi scolded her two daughters.

"Ann is picking me up today!" The blonde yelled at her mother.

"Oh, really? Such a sweet friend as always." Kasumi responded.

Right after those words were exchanged, a tall man dressed for work entered the dining room and greeted his family.

"Good morning."

"Good morning!" SeeU cheerfully greeted her father.

"You're early today," Uni commented. Usually, the girls' father would wake up a bit later, barely missing his daughters leaving home for school.

"Today is the start of a new school year," the man cheerfully told them. "I wanted to see your cute faces in the morning on your first day of school." After saying those words, he pets his younger daughter's head, knowing she likes to be petted like a kitten.

"Good morning," Kasumi greeted her husband with glee. "Do you want coffee?"

"I drink it everyday," the man responded. "No need to ask, dear." After pouring the drink for her husband, Kasumi handed him his coffee.

"Will you be late again? Do you know what time you are coming home?" Kasumi started to throw questions at her husband.

"How should I know," he responded with slight annoyance in his voice. "Also, didn't I ask you to wake me up earlier? I told you last night I wanted to have a nice breakfast with the girls."

"I did wake you up." She started to sound irritated with her husband. "You got mad at me and told me to let you sleep more," she told him in a slight harsh tone.

"Also, when I walked downstairs past the living room, the place was covered in papers scattered all over the floor and unwashed cups on the table. If a guest was to visit unexpectedly, we'd appear to be slobs," The man told his wife with bitterness in his voice. As he was a wealthy businessman living in a nice home, he expects his house to represent his status. "Clean the mess up."

"I'll do it later," Kasumi responded with a hint of annoyance in her voice while she goes to take some plates off the table. "I'm busy right now."

"You should keep this house clean in the first place."

"Stop complaining so much this early in the morning."

"Stop slacking and lazing around."

"Gah!" Interrupted by the shriek of their younger daughter, the bickering married couple turned to her, noticing the juice she had spilled on the table.

"Oh, SeeU…" her mother grabbed a rag and went to clean up the mess.

"SeeU is clumsy as usual," her father commented with a small grin on his face.

"He he," SeeU chuckled, scratching her head with her hand. Uni looked at her younger sister, well aware that SeeU doesn't like it whenever their parents argue. Once it appeared that an argument is about to start, SeeU would always spill or break any nearby items. By doing so, her parents would immediately focus their attention on her and thus forgetting they were even arguing in the first place.

"SeeU!" a voice of a mature young girl cried out for the blonde.

"Oh, Ann is here!" SeeU rushes out of her seat, grabbing her bag and kissing her parents goodbye.

"I'll see you later!" With those words, SeeU departed her home, leaving her family there in the dining room.

xxx

"I can't believe it, Kokone!" Gumi sang cheerfully, walking beside her friend on their way to school. "In the last year of junior high school now, we must make it even better than last year!" Kokone couldn't help but chuckle at her friend's cheerfulness. "Oh Kokone," Gumi began her dramatic nonsense, her arms rising up to add to her dramaticness. "I want to make lots of new friends and make lots of happy memories. I want to get along with all my classmates. I want to have a great year with everyone."

"Haha, you're saying pretty careless things now," Kokone responded to her friend's semi-dramatic scene.

"Eh… so cruel, Kokone," Gumi pouted to the brunette beside her. "Don't you want to make memories too, and make friends with your classmates as well?" In a serious tone, Gumi asked her friend. For a moment, Kokone looked up, and then answered her friend's question.

"Making memories and new friends are nice," she started. "But just as long as we are in the same class and are still friends, I will be happy enough." Before she could even suspect, Kokone was tackled by the greenette beside her.

"Kokone!" Gumi cheered with glee in her voice. "I am so glad to be friends with you." She said with a smile on her face. Kokone smiled back, and eventually, the two girls fell into a fit of giggles. Kokone and Gumi had been friends since Kindergarten, and no matter what the future decided to bring, they promised to stay as close friends forever.

After calming down, the two girls continue their walk to school, eager to start their last year of junior high together.

Standing on a bridge, a tall figure stood, watching the two young girls happily laughing to each other and walking together. The woman stared down at the two girls with a blank look on her face. Then, after a moment, a very small smile appeared on her face. In her mind, the two girls were too innocent. They believed they would be friends forever, but were they sure they can truly stay friends? The woman slowly opened her mouth and murmured under her breath.

"Open your eyes."


	2. Before the First Meeting

"Do you think we will have an attractive male teacher like Mr. Hiyama this year?"

"Perhaps, we will have a cool teacher like Ms. Sakine for our teacher."

"We'll be in the same class, all four of us, right?"

"Of course!" Ann said proudly. "I told Miss Kariya that I must be in the same class with you three and Kaito. In addition, I have requested that the beast stays far away from us."

Because she was extremely wealthy due to working as a model, as well as being very popular to her peers, Ann was capable of asking for anything she desired. In the eyes of the people who adored her and half of the staff in the school, Ann must be pleased with everything.

"I still want to know who our teacher is," a loud mouth girl with long blonde hair pouted. "Perhaps it will be Ms. Sakine. She’s bold and spunky."

"I said it before, I want Mr. Hiyama as a teacher," a girl with a quieter voice stated. “He’s really kind.”

"I actually asked for Miss Mirai to be my teacher again,” Ann confessed. “Since she’s done so well for me last year, I would like you all to experience being under her care.”

“Really?” Maki, the girl with the blonde hair, asked. “I guess that’s fine as long as it’s not the robot Megurine.”

“I rather not have Mr. Ginsaki. He’s too old,” One, with her more calm demeanor, spoke. “Otherwise, I’m okay with anyone else.”

"... What about Ms. Miura?" SeeU asked softly.

"Ms. Miura? Who?" Ann looked at her friend puzzled face.

"Oh yeah! My mom told me a few days ago that a new teacher is coming to our school," One informed her friends. "My mom said the teacher had taken off from her job for two years, but is excellent."

"Excellent? Wow." Maki gaped at the information she heard. "Ann, perhaps we will have this Miura lady as our teacher."

"I guess,” said Ann. “But I’d love to have Ms. Mirai too. She really was looking out for me and keeping me happy.”

“Didn’t Ms. Mirai attended one of your events?” Maki asked. “She seemed really nice.”

“Maybe if we get Ms. Miura, it won’t be too bad,” One tried to convince her. SeeU was about to agree with One, only to recall the words said to her by her older sister.

"If she is your teacher, then you will be spending a year in hell."

"One," SeeU called for her friend's attention.

"What is it, SeeU?"

"Has your mom said anything else about Ms. Miura?"

"Hm…" Miura sat there, thinking of what else her mother had said about Ms. Miura while Ann and Maki gossiped about the other teachers. "Nothing else, just that she is coming to our school and is good at teaching."

"Well…" SeeU started. "My sister told me-"

Before the girl could even continue, the car stopped, and then in a few seconds, the driver opened the door for the girls.

"We made it to school, ladies." Ann's driver told the girls. They thanked him and departed from their lavishing car.. Once they had left, the driver went back to his seat and drove off. Before the girls could even move, students start coming up to them, desperately wanting their attention, or, more specifically, Ann's attention.

"Ann, are you excited for the new school year?"

"Do you think we will be in the same class?"

"I love you Ann! I am your biggest fan!"

"Please give me your autograph!"

The students continued to harass the girls –specifically Ann- with their questions and requests. A scene like this was normal, especially on the first day of a new term. Ann loved attention like this. She loved the cheers her fans – or ordinary classmates – gave her. She felt confident about herself. Ann also loved her job, as it gave her a ton of attention as well as wealth. In addition, due to the amount of fame she gained, Ann used incidents like this as an excuse to allow herself to have anything she wanted.

At the moment, however, as much as she liked the crowd, Ann wanted to know what class she and her friends were in, confident that they were all together as she personally requested it.

"Hey, everyone, please do me a favor." Ann cried out, earning everyone's attention. "One of you, please look at the board and find my name, in addition to SeeU's, One's, Maki's, and Kaito's. After doing so, come back and tell us what class we are in."

Immediately after hearing those words, her fans rushed straight to the board to find the information the girl desired. In a few seconds, a dozen rushed back, having the answer she wanted.

"Class 3-3!"

"Thank you so much~" with that, Ann and her friends walked away, entering the school.

xxx

“Did we really have to go to school and see that?” Kokone complained as she and Gumi arrived at school. As soon as the car drove by, Kokone knew it had to be the school’s “beloved princess.” Ann wasn’t in school since the beginning, but she transferred during the summer in the first year, and since then, all Kokone and Gumi could hear whenever they got to school was anything concerning Ann. To everyone else, Ann was a goddess who must be looked after.

To Kokone and Gumi, as well as to the groups of students who weren’t fans of her, they saw Ann as a spoiled brat. 

“She has the vice-principal wrapped around her finger,” Kokone complained, speaking in a low voice so only Gumi could hear. “And Miss Mirai will do anything for her. What a suck-up she is.” 

“Ann gives a lot of donations to the school,” Gumi added. “But it was rumored that she did it so she wouldn’t repeat a year.”

“I wouldn’t be surprised,” Kokone replied. “She doesn’t study at all.”

The two girls walked towards the board, ceasing their conversation. Any sort of talking that criticized Ann was seen as taboo. Many students looked at her and felt the need to “defend” her, so even the slightest criticism was met with physical attacks. Gumi recalled meeting a man who called himself a journalist, and he asked her about the drastic rise of bullying in the school. Gumi knew the answer: anyone who expressed disliking Ann was maliciously attacked. As a result, the school ended up being divided between students who would blindly do anything for her and students who got sick of her in a heartbeat. Gumi didn’t know if he liked her answer or not, but she never met him again.

Upon reaching the board, the two girls attempted to find their names on the papers pinned to the board. As the area was crowded with students desperately searching for their names, trying to find their own was quite difficult. After two minutes of looking, Kokone finally found her name, and shortly afterwards, found the name that belonged to her friend.

"Gumi!" Kokone cried, getting the greenette's attention. Both girls left the crowded area quickly so Kokone can share news without getting pushed around. "We're both in the same class, 3-3!"

Upon hearing they were together, Gumi cheered with Kokone in bliss.

"That's great! We can spend our last year in this school together!"

"I know! Let's go Gumi!" Kokone expressed so happily with her friend, an expression she only gave when she was so happy.

The duo left, eager to enter their assigned classroom. As they walked to their new room, Gumi caught a small glint of white fluttering around. As she squinted, wanting to get a better glimpse of the object, it lands on the ground, allowing the girl to recognize it as a small, white butterfly.

"What are you looking at?" Kokone's voice snapped Gumi out of her trance. The brunette decided to try to see what her friend was staring at.

"Small, white butterfly," was all Gumi answered before she looked back at it, only to notice it was gone. Before Gumi or Kokone could react, a figure walked by, in the area where the butterfly was last seen. She held an attendance book, indicating that she was a teacher. Her long dark hair blended in with her dark clothes, leaving the two girls to blink, wondering if they were even seeing someone, and in an instant, she was gone. 

"Who was at?" Kokone questioned.

"No idea."

After pausing for a moment, feeling a sense of fear for a millisecond, the two girls decided to simply shrug it off and continue walking to their homeroom.

xxx

“Miss Kariya,” a woman named Mirai Komachi spoke up after finding Akiko, who dressed herself in her finest clothes and kept her hair in a proper bun.

“Is this urgent?” Akiko asked. “I need to prepare for the assembly in a few minutes.”

“You said Ann will be in my class, but I looked in my-”

“Can this wait?” Akiko said coldly. “I need to make sure I have everything in order.” 

Akiko’s foul mood was obvious, but Komachi didn’t care.

“Ann’s not registered in my attendance book!”

“What.”

She ceased her work of putting her books in order, and Akiko turned to look at the teacher in confusion.

“It can’t be. I finalized all the work and made sure she was in your class.”

“But she’s not! Look!” Akiko grabbed Komachi’s book and ran her finger through the names.

“It can’t be… unless,” Akiko paused, realizing that the only person who would change Akiko’s work without her consent is the only one whose position in school was higher than hers. Shoving the book back at Komachi, Akiko stormed off to the room next to her, and she welcomed herself in rudely, not bothering to knock at all.

“Did you change the class sheets without telling me!?”

“What do you want now?” 

Resting in his chair was Ueki, the principal of the school. His aging face and wrinkled skin showed that his time of controlling the school was near its end. Akiko became the vice-principal, yet she took on most of his jobs so he can rest properly. Sometimes, without letting her know, Ueki would read Akiko’s reports and act on it.

“What class is Ann under? She’s not in Mirai’s class, and she has to be in her class!”

“And why does she have to be in her class?” Ueki asked, looking at Akiko with his strict eyes.

“Because… Ann specifically asked to have Mirai as her teacher.”

“So?”

Hearing him say only that one word, Akiko froze, growing shocked as she discovered his lack of care or concern over why it was seemingly a major problem. 

“But the donations!”

“They’re just donations,” said Ueki. “They do not mean Ann can get whatever she pleases. She can donate, but she is still a student. She is not above us,” he reminded her.

“But,” Akiko tried to speak, but Ueki interrupted.

“And I looked through the reports. Ann failed many tests, to the point where she should not be in her third year,” he added, his hand patting on a book next to him. “Plus, there were a lot of complaints. Luka complained. Meiko complained, and even Yamato complained. Yamato is a very relaxed man, so him complaining is honestly a big deal,” he said with his head shaking. “I warned you not to go blind on her just because of her career as a model, but you didn’t listen.”

“But-”

“Go! Get ready for the assembly!” Ueki raised his voice, intending for her to leave.

“But Mirai-”

“She’s not having Ann for homeroom, and that is final! Go!”

xxx

"Hurry up, you guys will be late!" yelled a teacher with short brown hair towards a couple of students. Listening to her, they nodded and ran off. The bell had rung, a sign for the students to head to the gym for their first assembly. After the students were out of her sight, the teacher looked around, searching for anyone else. Upon seeing no one else, she started to walk to the assembly, only to pause after hearing several footsteps, one step coming after another in a slow, steady pace.

The woman turned to the source of the sound, only to find her standing behind, and her words came out, alerting the woman of a message.

xxx

The room where class 3-3 would be was vacant, with all the students attending the assembly. Opening the door, a stranger walked around, staring at each desk and analyzing the items, taking notes in their head on what items belonged to which person.

Stopping at a desk, the stranger stared at a case, colored orange and filled with pencils. After a moment, a smirk grew as the stranger reached for the case with their firm yet delicate fingers.

xxx 

"I'm very happy we can have this ceremony with a smile," Ueki announced through the speaker. "Lately, there have been accidents. There had been attacks. Many problems had arrived. I hope from now on, we treat each other with the utmost respect. " As the principal dragged on his speech, the students stood, either listening intently or blocking out the words.

"So boring…" one student quietly whispered. Many students were already tired of standing in the gym and listening to the long, stale speech the old principal was saying. Even the teachers and the vice-principal had grown bored and wished for Mr. Ueki to end his speech.

After what had felt like an eternity, the speech had finally reached its end, leading Akiko to announce the next topic while pushing all of her negative thoughts out of her mind.

"At this point, I will announce the homeroom teachers for each class." The bored looks of the students drastically switched to looks of curiosity. Many were curious to who their teachers would be for the year.

"Starting with class 3-1, your homeroom teacher is Ms. Sakine." Students in the aforementioned homeroom smiled and cheered, glad that they had the attractive and outgoing Meiko for the year.

"In class 3-2, the homeroom teacher is Mr. Hiyama." Students erupted into cheers of joy, much louder than the students in 3-1 had cheered. Kiyoteru was known to be kind and very helpful, so the students of class 3-2 were very pleased to hear he was their teacher for the year.

"Third year, third class, you have the new teacher, Ms. Miura." The large class of 3-3 looked around, searching for their teacher. The teachers had looked around themselves too. Finally, Akiko turned to look at the teachers.

Ms. Miura was nowhere in sight.

"Where is Ms. Miura?" the vice-principal sternly asked with slight irritation in her voice. At an increasing pace, her negative thoughts stormed back to her mind. To be hired as a new staff member, then not show up to the very first assembly, Akiko became extremely bitter. Weeks prior to this day, she had told Ueki that she was against hiring Ms. Miura Mayuko.

_“But Coco is leaving, right?” he asked that afternoon. “And Mayuko has shown great strength.”_

"I have no idea," Kiyoteru hesitatingly responded.  
“I really don’t know,” Yamato shrugged.  
“I haven’t seen her at all,” Luka added.

"How irresponsible, not showing up at the first school assembly…" Akiko whispered, her annoyance growing every second.

"I'm sorry," said Kiyoteru "I'll go search fo-"

"Ms. Miura said she was not coming." The teachers turned to Meiko "She said she needed to prepare for her class, so she won't come to the ceremony," She informed them.

"What? It's an important ceremony. She shouldn't skip something like this." Akiko tried to stay quiet while saying those words, but her anger got the better of her as she couldn't keep calm. The students near them were eventually forced to hear the conversations concerning Ms. Akuno.

Meiko leaned in towards Akiko and tried to answer her in a quiet voice so only she would hear.

"She said there was no need to attend as the speech will be dragged and be a bore."

"Eh? What is that supposed to mean?" At this point, Akiko didn't even bother trying to stay quiet anymore. Her annoyance level had just skyrocketed the moment her ears captured those words.

"I was just told to deliver the message…"

At this point, the students in the gym couldn't stay quiet anymore. Many dissolved into conversation, all of it entirely around Miura.

"The new teacher didn't show up."

"Haha, she's late."

"First day of school, and new teacher skips assembly. How bold."

"What could have happened?"

"The new teacher ditched the assembly? Wow."

xxx

After the assembly ended, the students returned to their assigned homerooms. With no teacher present, the students were quick to be loud and chatty, with only a few keeping quiet. Gumi continued to peek out of the back door of the classroom, hoping that Ms. Miura would appear. For a moment, she heard sounds coming from the hallway nearby and believed it was the teacher, only for her hopes to be shattered when the sounds came from a trio of friends – Sora, Tianyi, and Iroha – skipping happily to the classroom. Gumi continued to look for her teacher.

"What are you doing?"

Kokone had grown tired of seeing her friend poking her head out the room and expecting something to happen. Gumi turned to her friend and answered her.

"I'm waiting for Ms. Miura to show up."

Kokone sighed in response. "She'll show up eventually. Come on, Gumi. Let's go sit somewhere." She then dragged Gumi into the room entirely, and both sat on nearby chairs.

"Kokone, are you going to try to be class president again this year?" Gumi asked her friend. She figured Kokone would most likely try to compete for the role of class president. If the girl wished to do so again, Gumi would be happy with it. Last year, Kokone did an excellent job as the class president.

"Of course I will try for it again," Kokone told her friend. "This year won't be easy though." The girl sighed, then turned around, staring at one of their classmates. Gumi leaned and stared at who Kokone was looking at.

Sitting on the far corner near the window was a tall girl with white hair tied up in a side tail. Instead of socializing with her classmates, the girl sat silently and read the book being held in her hands.

"Flower was the class president in her class last year. She is extremely smart. She doesn't even need to study to get good grades." Kokone informed her friend.

"Really!?" Gumi was clearly shocked. She never met someone who doesn't even need to study to get excellent grades. The girl even looked intelligent too, sitting there as she read a book that appeared to be too advanced for Gumi's liking. Kokone then turned back around and faced towards a certain, popular girl in the room.

"And then you have her, who bribed that dumb Mirai to let her be the class president." Kokone clearly voiced her distaste in Ann.

"I still can't believe we are stuck in the same class as her." Gumi pouted. Kokone simply nodded in agreement. Gumi then opened her mouth to say something, only to be tackled from behind.

"Hello!" cheered a male voice from behind. Gumi looked up, only to be staring directly at bright, blue orbs that belonged to a face that she was happy to see.

"Len!"

"It's been a while, Len. Finally, we get to be in the same class." Kokone told the boy.

"I know. Being in a separate class from you two is no fun. The other students aren't fun at all."

The three then engaged themselves into a cheerful conversation, as it had been a long time since they last got to talk like this together.

xxx

"Ann, are you going to be class president again?"

"Of course I will, SeeU." Ann answered cheerfully.

"Ann, you said you requested that the brat should not be in our class, right?"

"I did, One." Ann responded, then turned to where One was facing. Ann noticed cherry colored hair and an ahoge sticking out of a girl's head. "You gotta be kidding me. I specifically asked Ms. Kariya to make sure she is never in the same room as me," Ann swore. Maki, One, and SeeU patted Ann, attempting to comfort the girl while she also complained about Mirai not being her homeroom teacher for the year. In a few seconds, Ann sighed. “Can things get any worse?”

“Well,” Maki looked around trying to find a way to improve Ann’s mood only to sigh. “Our class really sucks. We got that brat Piko and that dumb nerd Akari.”

“Really?” One looked up. “Oh, there’s Athena. She’s foreign like Ann.”

"Who else is in our class?" Ann, feeling her mood lightening up a bit, looked around. "There's that bookworm who doesn't need to study at all and still get straight As.”

"And there’s that nerd who actually needs to study,” Maki added. The girls then proceeded to comment on all of their classmates while SeeU listened as she didn’t care enough to speak poorly about them like they did. 

“She’s very dumb.”  
“He’s annoying.”  
“Ugly.”  
“There’s no wonder she has no friends.”

As her friends continued to speak poorly about their classmates, SeeU listened, wondering when they began to speak coldly like this about anyone else. SeeU reflected back to their childhood when the four of them were together, and back then, they didn’t talk like this.

"Who is that green haired girl?"

"I have no idea. I don't know who the boy and the girl with her are."

"They must be nobodies then. People we don't need to care about."

SeeU turned her head towards the trio containing a blonde boy, a green haired girl, and a brunette. The three looked so cheerful, talking to each other and laughing. The scene further pushed SeeU back to her childhood days where she, Ann, Maki, and One would play together, do their assignments together, and would even go on a trip, all four of them, together. When middle school began, SeeU was excited, seeing it would all be the same…

Except it didn’t feel the same. Sure, SeeU still spent time with her friends. Occasionally, they still messaged each other, attended dance class together, and even have sleepovers, but SeeU couldn’t help but notice their mood and attitudes were changing, and she didn’t like their newfound behavior towards anyone in the school.

Just then, the school bell rang, signalling the class to start teaching. Upon hearing the bell, SeeU went to sit at the desk where she laid her stuff. The same time, classmates Kyo, Wil, and Yu were chasing each other when Kyo went to turn away from Yu, and his hand slid by SeeU's pencil box. Without realizing it, the box landed roughly on the ground, everything inside jumping out and scattered around.

SeeU sighed as she bent down to clean up the mess when the door slid open.

SeeU looked at the mess and groaned, unhappy with Kyo's small action. She bent down to the floor to clean up the mess, even though she never made it in the first place. As she is cleaning, the slide door slowly opens. Everyone looked up, making eye contact with the one who entered.

She stood, dressed in black, with her dark hair framing her slim face. Her eyes seemed to glare at the room, and not a single emotion could be easily detected on her rough face. SeeU stared at her, growing more enchanted by the lady who came to the classroom, and in a minute, she realized who she was.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Enter the rewrite of chapter 2. I think this part shows the changes I've made and new sections that were added. I want to explain those changes.
> 
> 1) I have noted and implied Kagamine Len would appear in the original story, and I decided to delete it and revise it before he even appeared (though honestly, the fact that a major character was coming 80 chapters in kind of bothered me a lot). To apologize, I made him take Leon's role. This also means 'Kagamine Rin' has a new role (they are siblings in this story), and Leon also has a different role in the story (yes, he'll still appear).
> 
> 2) It's been mentioned repeatedly that Ann got special treatment but I felt I didn't do a good job of exposing how bad it was, so I wanted to expand on that a little, hoping it will help to show what will happen to her and her treatment throughout the story. I also edited the text since in the original versions of my writing, I implied that everyone allowed Ann to get away with things instead of what I originally intended: some people took their jobs seriously and others didn't.
> 
> 3) As I mentioned previously, because junior high school classrooms are bigger, the classroom size is bigger, but I don't think it will be that big of a change that it effects the overall story. There are also more teacher characters to reflect on how big the school is, but again, barely effects the main plot.
> 
> 4) Because my interests expanded the past five years and more vocaloids exist, characters were swapped out for other characters. Ann's friends are now Maki (voiceroid) and One (CeVio), Luka is a teacher, and more to come.


	3. Her

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally placed in the number of chapters this fanfic is expected to have. If I'm aiming to update at least once a week (can get two per week for now due to current situation we're in), and as long as I keep my motivation up and don't get overwhelmed by life, I should be able to finish this in.... I expect at least 12-18 months from now.
> 
> I'm also keeping in mind that it could be longer in case I come across a chapter I write and feel that it's "too long for one chapter" 
> 
> Additionally I'm writing another story, one that is much shorter (planned to be 15 chapters long). So I think I'll be okay.

In what had felt like an eternity, the teacher, pale and emotionless, turned to close the door behind her, and then she walked towards the podium in the front of the classroom. All the students in the class could do was stare at their teacher. Once she had settled herself in front of the room, placing her attendance book down, the woman looked up, facing the class.

"Everyone," words began to flow from her mouth. "The bell has already rung." Her voice was strong, but it was stern as well, proving she was a no-nonsense teacher. "Please take a seat." The woman showed no hesitation or fear of being the teacher of the classroom.

Rather than doing what they were just asked to do, the students just turned to stare at each other. Usually, they are assigned seats on the first day. Wasn't their teacher going to do that? Before anyone could even ask, it was as if she had read their mind.

"You will get your assigned seat later. For now, take a seat." Finally aware that they will be given a seat assigned to them later, the students that had been standing went and filled in all the seats that were vacant. SeeU rushed to pick up all her fallen pencils and placed them in her box. After doing so in seconds, she picked up her box and rushed to the first vacant seat next to her, which also was next to Gumi.

Seeing that all her students have taken their seats, Miss Miura continued on. "Now, we will take a test." The very second after those words flew out of her mouth, the students in the class could only stare at her in disbelief then express themselves with shock.

"What!? A test!?" Yu cried out in shock.

"We just got back here and we are taking a test!?" Tianyi screamed.

"It's the first day of school! Who gives tests out on the first day!?" Al asked in disbelief, and the complaints coated the room.

"Shouldn't we start by introducing ourselves?" Maki's voice rang out, more audible than any complaint or comment that had been spoken in the past few seconds. Everyone had stopped talking and with their mouths shut, they turned to face Maki, who sat at the desk in the last row in the center. Facing her teacher who is giving her attention to her, Maki continued. "It is your first day here after all, Ms. Miura." A slight bit of arrogance was laced in her voice. Being the kind of girl who expects respect from everyone, even teachers, Maki felt it was perfectly okay for her to act as if she was important, even to the point of acting as if she deserves more respect than her superiors. Upon hearing that a test will be handed out, Maki chose to speak out to her homeroom teacher, hoping she would change her mind.

Naturally, One joined in. "Aren't you going to take attendance? Don't you want to memorize our names? Get to know us first?" One usually delivered her utmost respect to her superiors, unlike Maki, but it was due to her upbringing compared to Maki’s. Maki was a girl raised by a mother who spoke her mind out and didn’t care what anyone thought, so Maki behaved similarly, uncaring if she came across as disrespectful to those above her. One, however, was raised to give respect due to her mother’s high position in her career, and her mother was known to be respectful yet strong. After the news of a test slipped out, One chose to speak up, trying to persuade her teacher to do what all other teachers normally did on the first day of school. Even then, One’s tone was confident and bold, as she tried to take control. 

One and Maki had assumed that Ms. Miura didn’t know what she was doing, and they believed that handing out a test on the first day didn’t meet their standard of a “good teacher.” Refusing to give assigned seats didn’t convince them either. Not wanting to do introductions further pushed them to believe their teacher didn’t know what she was doing. One attempted to try to guide her, while Maki wanted to poke fun at her and humiliate her.

"There is no need for introductions," Ms. Miura responded boldly to the class, specifically directly to the two girls. "I already know all of your names." Miu's gaze then went straight towards Maki.

"You are Tsurumaki Maki, 14 years old and born on November 12. You are 156cm tall and you weigh 42kg. You are the daughter of Tsurumaki Kiku and Galaco. You were born in the states, but moved to this city when you were four." Maki's eyes grew wide in disbelief. How did Miu know such basic yet personal information and memorize it? "You tried to audition for an idol group when you were eleven, but you felt too arrogant to practice. You didn't make it past the first round because you continuously messed up your dance routine as a result of you refusing to practice." The blonde haired girl sat there, staring at her teacher with a shock expression. Maki knew nearly nothing about her teacher, yet Miu seemed to know everything about her just by saying that much. Before anyone could even react, Miu quickly moved on, changing her glance to One.

"Itou One, 14 years old and born on May 15. You are 161cm tall and weigh 46.3kg. You are the daughter of Itou Zero and Chika. You were an honors student in elementary school and excelled in dance class, going much more advanced than your friends achieved. When you started Junior High school, your confidence turned to arrogance, so you wouldn’t study, so you received poor grades and nearly failed the first year, which is why you dropped out of CFM Junior High and transferred to this school, Bokaro Junior High School. Your mother was very mad, wasn’t she?” One tightly held her school skirt, recalling her mom’s anger, though it was not towards One’s failures but towards the school staff. “The same year, you were unable to recite the words in a play you were in at Tokyo, leading to public humiliation in your school as well as students mocking you since you had acted arrogant to them up until the event, adding on to why you left and came here." One struggled to keep her composure. How did her teacher even know that information One had tried to keep secret?

"You already know my name from the assembly, so there is no need for me to introduce myself," Miu announced to the class. "Anyone else want an introduction like those two?" No one even got a chance to answer – not that they wanted to anyway as they feared going through the same humiliation – since Miu immediately continued on. "It's a waste of time to do so though." Everyone kept their silence. It was best to not say anything, and they realized that after the humiliation that occured. 

"From now on, you will have a test every Monday," Miu announced to her class. "The two students who score the lowest on the tests will be our class representatives." Shocked again and forgetting what had just happened, the students broke out in an uproar. Confusion rose as well. Representatives of the class were usually the students who were the most respected. The idea that the representatives were the students with the lowest grades was bizarre and unusual.

"Sensei!" Piko called for the teacher's attention. "What does that mean? The representatives are usually students who are smart and can finish their work on time. What about the class officers?" Miu turned to face Piko who sat at a desk near the front where Miu was at. A few students who were interested in nominating themselves as representatives listened intensely.

"In my class, there are only two representatives. There is no such thing as class officers." The students looked at their teacher in shock. No class officers? No president? Vice-president? Treasurer? Students who had planned on attempting to earn a position as a class officer could only stare at their teacher in disbelief.

"The class representatives exist to discourage unwanted thinking and full concentration on what is important, like their studies."

"Discourage unwanted thinking? Full concentration on their studies?" Akari questioned. Despite having said it to herself, Miu had heard her and turned to the left where Miriam was sitting.

"They are responsible for bringing in important books from the library, transferring snacks to those in need of them, cleaning the classroom, cleaning the labs, and all the likes," Miu went on, and Akari listened to Miu intently, growing interested in Miu already. While some of her classmates were clearly showing dislike for Miu – especially Maki and One thanks to Miu humiliating them – due to her two unexpected announcements, Akari had found herself liking Miu. 

"I will have them handle all the chores," Miu announced, and another uproar was created with complaints from the students once those words were announced.

"Doing all the chores?" Kaito asked, hoping he heard Miu incorrectly.

"What? All the chores?" Avanna questioned.

"Why all the chores?" Bruno muttered in annoyance.

"What the hell is this…" Ann couldn't believe what she had just heard.

"One the other hand," Miu continued to talk despite the complaints that were going on in her room. "The two students who score the highest will be given special privileges." This brought everyone's full attention. Special privileges for the students who achieve the highest scores? This never happened in their classes during their previous two years of junior high school.

"The big locker in the back of the room that is meant for only the teachers," Miu focused her gaze on the aforementioned lockers, and the students turned around to stare at them. "Those students will have the right to use those lockers." A few teenagers in the room suddenly found themselves interested in attempting to do well on the test now. The locker was large enough to fit everything they couldn't fit in their small lockers in the back of the room and their desk.

"Just as long as they show up for the first period, I do not care if they skip any morning assembly or meeting." A few more kids who weren't so interested in the lockers had gotten interested in the words that had just flown out of Miu's mouth. Morning assemblies were a bore to them. The chance of skipping them and their teacher not caring had given them the motivation to do well on the test.

However, not everyone in the class was fond of these special privileges if they were to be given to the most intelligent students and not to anyone else.

"That means they get to sleep for an extra thirty minutes!" Wil blurted out.

"What the hell? That's not fair!" Iroha cried out.

"That's special treatment for certain people!" Akira added.

"People in this classroom who are stupid and lazy will be treated differently." Miu went on as usual, uncaring of what her students believed. "Those people will suffer." Everyone focused on Miu, shocked with her words. "Intelligent people who put effort into their work earn more privileges and live wealthy lives." Facing forward, Miu continued on.

"That is society."

Without even stopping or letting anyone in her class even grasp what she had announced, Miu went on. "Do you know how many people can live happily like that and have others below them envy those?" Pausing as if she was waiting for someone to answer, the class could only sit there as they did not have an answer for her question. "Six percent," she began again. "Only six percent can live happily like that. In this country, only six out of 100 people can be happy. In this classroom, there are 32 students, and only six percent of you all can be happy. Of the 32 of you, only three at most can live with happy lives."

The twenty four students began to look around, staring at each other. Of all of them, only three can be happy. Some began to wonder who those three are that can truly live happy lives.

"If you want to be a part of that six percent," the students were brought back to reality by Miu's words. "Then you must make an effort, get good grades in school and enter a good university."

"I don't think it's all about going to a good college," Luka announced her opinion.

"Yeah," Kyo agreed. "What about sports?"

"How about music?" Tianyi added.

Miu glanced at the three who called out and smirked. "Chances of having successful lives with sports and arts are even lower. People who are first class receive first class education at a young age and put in a great amount of effort into their studies." Miu then cut off her gaze at the three and looked around the room, meeting everyone's gaze, one by one.

"Do you ordinary people think you can accomplish that?"

"Ordinary?" Ann questioned. She was a well known model in the city and was very popular with the students of Bokaro Junior High School. That comment Miu had just made left her feeling heavily offended. Her friends, SeeU, Maki, and One were not as popular or rich, but they were quite wealthy and throughout their lives, they have felt they were more unique than everyone else. Students like Ken, Akari, and Piko have spent most of their lives achieving what they felt were best for them and what was expected of them. They had felt they were better than everyone else. A majority of the class who were not as wealthy or smart were raised in a comfortable lifestyle with loving parents and a nice home. They felt they were fine enough with just that.

They all felt special in different ways, so to be told that they were just ordinary people, and by their teacher of all people to say that, most of the students in the room couldn't help but felt offended.

"You guys in this school, Bokaro Junior High School, you are all way behind the people who are in famous private schools." Miu turned her head up, as if the corner of the room her eyes were locked on was more interesting than the students she was teaching.

"Picture it," Miu told her class. "They live in a wealthy way none of you have ever experienced. They get privileges and freebies that none of you will ever receive. When they are sick, they can simply get examined at the finest hospitals without ever having to wait, unlike you guys. They can easily get the games you all wanted and have to wait for. They can enter an amusement park with special passes and ride all they want without having to wait."

"That's not fair…" Kyo muttered, and despite how quiet he had spoken from the back of the room, Miu heard him. The teacher looked directly at Kyo.

"Open your eyes." Miu slowly left her place in front of the podium and continued speaking as she walked around the classroom, through each aisle of rows staring down at each student. "In order for the privileged to live happily, you ordinary people have to pay the taxes and earn a low salary. These privileged people, do you know what they want from you?" Miu had waltz to the back of the room when she released that question from her mouth. As she expected, no one could answer or even say a word.

"They want you to remain stupid forever."

As quickly as Miu had said those words, Ann stood from her desk, hands slamming the top and chair roughly pushed back. If the earlier comment of being called ordinary was not enough to push Ann off the edge, everything else that had come out of Miu's mouth surely did. The model couldn't stand to sit there, being told as if she was lower than those wealthy people when Ann possibly had much more money due to her job.

Turning to Miu, who is a few steps away from her, Ann glared at her. "Stop saying all of that as if there were no such people as them in this room," she angrily hissed at her teacher. Miu simply stared at Ann, keeping a straight face.

"Why not? Surely, those who are privileged are not in this room now."

Ann couldn't believe her ears. Did Miu not know who Ann was?

"Sensei…" a quiet male voice Ann adored had spoken. Turning to the source of the voice, Miu stared at Kaito.

"What is it?"

"Ann…" Kaito began, but felt the words were growing lost in his throat. While Miu was not that far from him and just remained standing where she had been, her dark orbs were staring directly at the boy. The way she kept her gaze at him, so quiet with no sign of emotion anywhere in that face of hers, left Kaito feeling weak as he tried to speak. Kaito was nearly ready to chicken out on what he was to say until he found himself glancing at Ann again and realized why he spoke up in the first place. Knowing he had to protect his dear friend, the blue haired boy quickly earned the strength to speak up again.

"Ann is a privileged person too, just like those you mentioned." Once those words left his mouth, Kaito kept his gaze on Miu. He believed that after enlightening Miu on that fact, the teacher would leave Ann alone.

The result was the opposite of what he had expected.

Miu's emotionless face was soon decorated with a small smirk and she began to walk closer to Kaito, abandoning the blonde who was still standing. Once she got to Kaito's desk, she stood right in front of him, her small and barely noticeable smirk never leaving.

"If she is a privileged person," Miu began, her voice that had been so serious and lacking any other emotion until now was laced coated with a sense of arrogance. "Then why is she here?"

"Eh?" Kaito sat there, not expecting that question from his teacher.

“Ann Jody is a model, and her career helped her and her mother gain a nice, large home for them to live,” Miu spoke, revealing how much she knew about Ann. “With her status, she could have gone anywhere in this city, maybe even in the country, so why is she here?”

"Sensei, I-" Ann began, ready to reveal her reason, but Miu cut her off.

"I didn't ask you. I asked him. Since he is kind enough to speak up for you, he should answer the question." Miu kept her gaze on Kaito. The boy was unsure of what to say. He knew the answer, but he felt too pressured to even let his words come out. Miu kept a steady, cold gaze at him, and everyone's eyes bored deeply into him, waiting for Kaito to answer the teacher. "What's wrong? Are you chickening out, or could it be, you chose to defend that girl just because you like her?" Miu taunted Kaito with those words. Hearing them, Kaito suddenly felt the strength he needed to answer his teacher. He wasn't going to let her mock him. Looking up, staring directly at her eyes, Kaito gave her the answer she asked for.

"Ann came to this school because she chose to. She wanted to be closer to a friend who goes to this school."

Silence then came to the room. Ann couldn't help but admire the blue haired boy even more. Kaito felt relief overcome him. Miu ended her heavy gaze at Kaito and started walking off back to the front of the room, commenting on the answer she received while doing so.

"How useless."

Ann, Kaito, and several other students in the room gaped at their teacher, stunned by her words. Upon reaching her podium, Miu began another speech.

"If you were given one day to have special privileges, just like her," Miu's gaze landed on Ann, indicating who exactly she was referring to. "Would you abandon it all for who you think is a friend, show off all the wealth you have and waste it, or," she cut off her gaze on Ann and her orbs stared directly at every other student in the room. "Would you put the special privileges you were given to good use?"

"What do you mean 'wasting' our wealth?" One asked with a look of annoyance.

"Why did you stare at Ann when you said those exact words?" Maki questioned her teacher with slight anger in her voice. She was still unhappy and offended by her teacher's earlier comments.

Kaito stood up angrily, once again, earning everyone's attention. "Ann doesn't waste her wealth or shows it off," he yelled at Miu. At this point, Kaito was convinced that Miu was antagonizing Ann and her friends. Openly humiliated Maki and One, classifying them and Ann – as well as quiet SeeU, who is wealthy and a good friend of the three girls – as ordinary and not special, and then calling Ann off for being the kind of person who wastes away her wealth, Kaito’s rage grew untamable. It was as if she was trying to openly offend them, and worst of all, it appeared she didn't even consider how her own students would feel.

"Are you trying to be a white knight now?" Miu asked nonchalantly, not even bothering to look at Kaito. "I am sure some people here agree with me. Those girls you are protecting, they constantly show off and waste their privileges doing silly things, like for example, attending this school."

Ann, Maki, and One stared at their teacher, trying their best not to go up to her and strangle her. Kaito, however, couldn't hold his rage in.

"Can you stop-" he began to yell.

"I agree."

Everyone turned to the source of those words. All eyes fell onto a red haired girl with a strand of hair sticking up. Looking only at her teacher and ignoring everyone else who stared at her, Miki continued.

"If I were to have the same privileges as those girls, I would put them to good use, like taking extra classes or preparing for my future…"

"I agree," Piko spoke out. "Those girls, all they ever do is spend time together and waste their days away, never caring what could happen in the future."

"I had always envied them for having everything I couldn't have, but the way Akuma-sensei and Furukawa-san say it now, I guess I'm glad I'm not them." Ken commented. Soon, a few voices spoke out in agreement. Kaito, Ann, and their friends stared at their classmates in disbelief. Sure, they knew Miki would agree that they were wasting their time since the redhead despised them openly. Of course, nerds like Akari and Ken would agree too as all they did for their freetime was studying. Everyone else though, or at least, those who spoke out? The clique thought those people adored them and would defend them alongside Kaito.

"Do you see now?" Miu's question was aimed directly at Ann. "Did you truly think someone besides Shion-san was going to defend you? You now know, everyone here believes you are wasting your time, and believe me, if it weren't for you, we wouldn't have class time wasted." Miu coldly called off on Ann. "Because of your idiocy and stubbornness, we haven't started the test earlier like I planned to."

Glaring at the dark haired woman, Ann slowly sat down, and Kaito followed. Ann realized that if she tried to defend herself even more, Miu would simply find a way to bite back. The blonde then recalled having gone to the office a few months ago, personally asking that if she couldn’t have Mirai as a homeroom teacher, to at least give her the best one, in her words. Ann was beginning to believe they had ignored that part like they ignored the part where she asked to keep Miki in a separate class, and Ann couldn’t believe it. Akiko promised. How could she break that promise, Ann wondered. Unless Akiko thought the best was Miu, then all Ann could do was regret it, as she was beginning to suffer under Miu’s care.

Meanwhile, Kaito had realized that even if he tried to defend his friends, Miu would find a way to hurt them. One and Maki found themselves despising Miu for everything she had said, and she had been in the room for only around twenty minutes now. Some students like Akari and Ken, however, found themselves admiring Miu as the teacher shared the same views and ideals as them.

"Now," Miu brought everyone's attention back to her. "Without further delay, we will take the test."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Copy+paste from FF for consistency's sake:
> 
> To further expand on my explanation in the previous chapter, in the original draft, Rin and Len are siblings, and I decided I wanted to keep that relationship in this rewrite. I realized that if I was going to replace Leon, I also had to replace Rin as well, since sometimes twins are in separate classes (though I guess it would also depend on the school as well). So the only changes in major characters are what were originally Leon, Rin, and Mayu. They all still appear in the rewrite but in different roles.
> 
> The biggest reason for changing Mayu: the original story (the drama show) portrays her in dark colored clothing, and even though I can put my own twists in a fic, I honestly wanted the teacher character to be more like her. After thinking, I ended up basing the character off of vocaloid Mew, so the last name is Miura, since Miu is similar to Mew. However, her first name is "Mayuko," so at least we get a sense of Mayu in her.
> 
> Last thing I want to discuss in the author notes is the characters of Maki (formerly Prima) and One (formerly Chika). I felt when I wrote about them in the previous story, they felt very bland honestly, like their only role in the fic was to be brainless sheep to the "queen." I don't know if readers felt any other personality from them and if you guys who read the original story did feel any character from them, congrats, because for me, it felt like I was writing zombies with no memorable qualities outside of someone's sidekick. So I decided to expand a bit on Maki and One, not too much though since technically, they don't have that big of a role, and give them a bit more personality. Chika is in the fic, as it's stated she is One's mother, and her role in the story will appear as well. Prima, though, I'm wondering where I'd place Prima, I feel maybe a minor role... I'm thinking about it.
> 
> There's so much more I want to say here, but I feel I should hold off until the next chapter or so. Until then, I'll see you soon. Also read my other fic too please, 15 Year Love Story.


	4. Sealing Her Fate

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, I took my sweet time updating this thanks to a beautiful thing called "migraines." Here's to hoping it doesn't come for a long while I can resume uploading fics on a regular pace.
> 
> More notes in the bottom

Papers were being passed back, each student taking one for themselves before they passed it onto the one behind them. In seconds, a piece of paper no one wanted was placed in front of every student.

"You have only twenty minutes to take the test," Miu informed them. Everyone kept quiet, as they all accepted that attempting to talk back would not change their teacher's mind on having a test. "If you studied properly up until now, these questions should be no trouble for you, and you will finish the test in no time."

"Sensei," Yuu called out. "Can I go use the bathroom before we start?" Miu simply stared at him. "Well… hearing you talk about the bleak future kind of makes me really want to go," Yuu added.

"Saying 'May I go to the bathroom' during class is the same as 'I'm not smart enough to manage my time,'" Miu informed him, as well as she informed the class. "In my class, you will not be allowed to use the bathroom." Miu looked directly at Yuu. "Make good use of your class time."

"Eh… Then I'll use the toilet right here." Yuu commented. A few students were ready to snicker, except Miu was quick to respond to Yuu's comment.

"Go ahead. Do as you please. You just want to disobey me, right?"

You stayed silent, not wanting to say anymore as he realized she wasn’t joking. 

"Without any more delay," Miu's voice brought everyone's attention back to her. "Begin!"

Everyone in the room turned their test over. Most had instantly grabbed their writing utensils and quickly began to write on their test. A few others simply stared at the test.

Len sat there, on his desk, pencil in hand. When he glanced around, he saw the faces his classmates made, all of them focusing on the test, and he knew. No one wanted to be a class representative. The idea of being burdened to do all the work wasn’t sitting well for anyone, so Len decided. 

There was no reason to continue the test.

With no desire to answer the questions, Len’s fingers created random doodles with his pencil. If no one wanted to take the burden, Len would take it instead, knowing this way, one less person would be miserable. 

Meanwhile, SeeU brought herself back to reality after staring at the paper in horror. She knew some of the questions, but she needed to write them to at least keep herself away from the position of doing all the work. She grabbed her pencil straight from her box, and she began to write the characters of her name. The first character was written, and she began the stroke of the next part of her name...

And the sound of a snap left her in shock for a second. 

She glanced at her now broken pencil, and without a second thought, she reached for her box, grabbing the next pencil and getting ready to write, only to notice the tip was snapped on this one as well. She grabbed her remaining pencils in a panic, discovering none of them were sharpened, and it left her in great worry. There was no way all of her pencils broke from landing on the floor. She didn’t understand, knowing she had sharpened everything the night before. Her mechanical pencils were refilled with lead, yet they were empty as well. SeeU dug in her box for her sharpeners, but they were absent as well. 

SeeU’s emotions maxed out on fear and panic, and she grabbed her pencil, desperately trying to rip the wood out with her frail nails. The idea of asking her teacher came to her mind, but she pushed it off, fearing her teacher would not aid her in any way. She glanced around the room in a panic as well, hoping to at least see a sharpener, except none came to her sight. With desperation, she scratched her pencil furthermore, hoping for at least a piece of lead to appear. 

From the very back of the room, Flower took her test without a care while knowing the answers that were needed. Growing more uninterested in the quiz, she looked up briefly. Her eyes landed on SeeU, and she grew curious, wondering what had happened that left her in a panic.

Gumi, sitting next to SeeU, had been focused on her test, only for SeeU's small action to capture her attention, leading the bespectacled girl to look over. Realizing the situation very quickly, Gumi grabbed her pencil box and took out another pencil, one with a rather dull tip, but it was enough to write. She glanced to see where the teacher stood, and discovering Miu’s attention was elsewhere, Gumi began to lean towards SeeU. She extended her arms towards her, hoping for SeeU to notice quickly, as their time was running out. From behind, Flower kept watching, growing more interested in what would come next and briefly forget about the test. 

SeeU continued to attempt to get at least a small bit of lead from her pencil with no result. Her nails began to chip and grow more red, and she never noticed Gumi’s attempt to donate a spare pencil. Knowing that trying to call out her name would get Miu's attention, Gumi leaned in closer to SeeU, trying to get the pencil to her. When SeeU continued to fail to notice, the green haired girl leaned closer, and closer…

Then Gumi found herself staring at the ceiling, her vision no longer perfectly clear as her glasses had fallen from her face. Her actions succeeded in getting SeeU’s attention, as well as it captured the glances from the rest of her classmates and Miu. Flower did what she could to hide her laughter, never expecting herself to find an incident like this so humorous, as well as it had been the first time in years since she smiled.

“What are you doing?” Gumi’s eyes met her, the woman who stood tall. “Stand up.” Realizing she was no longer in her seat, Gumi sat herself up, standing and bowing apologetically.

“I’m sorry,” she said.

“Finish your test,” Miu simply told her, and Gumi realized the pencil was no longer in her hand. She looked briefly, but as she was unable to find it in a short time span, she spoke up immediately. 

“Miss? What if my pencil broke and I didn’t have a spare?”

Gumi asked cautiously while everyone kept their eyes on her. It didn’t bother her if people noticed her, just as long as they didn’t know her private life, but Gumi chose her words so that she didn’t give any attention to SeeU, not wanting to out her out.

"Then they have no choice but to sit there and watch everyone else take the test," Miu answered Gumi's question.

'Just exactly what I thought," SeeU screamed in her head. Indeed, her fate was sealed.

xxx

Wil and Gakupo were volunteered – under Miu's command – to take out two of the desks in the room and to return with a brown table, big enough for two students to use. The boys placed it in the back center of the room, as Miu had asked them to do.

"That desk they just brought in is where the representatives will sit," the teacher informed her students. They were all standing in the back, holding on to their belongings. Grabbing the tests, Miu stared at her students.

"I will now return the tests, starting with the highest grades. Pick any seat that you like." The class simply stared at her, nodding, understanding their teacher's words.

"Of the thirty-two of you, only two students received the perfect score. Those two will earn the special privileges." Miu continued. "They are Zhiyu Moke and Harukaze Flower." The two students silently walked up to their teacher, grabbing their tests back. Moke went towards a desk at the very front, while Flower walked to the very back corner of the room, closest to the windows. Flower sat herself down, sitting at the desk that was farthest from Miu. 

"The third best is Kizuna Akari," Miu announced. Akari walked up to Miu. Upon reaching the teacher, Miu leaned down a bit. "That's too bad," she whispered to the girl with long braids. "Better luck next time," she slightly smiled at her.

Akari stared at Miu as a smile grew on her face. "Yeah," she responded. Akari found herself liking her teacher even more.

"Next is Utatane Piko."

"Yes," the white haired boy responded.

"Shinzou Kokone."

"Yes," Gumi's close friend walked towards Miu, before slightly turning to Gumi. 'I'll save you a seat,' she mouthed to her friend. Gumi nodded.

"Haruno Sora." A girl with ribbons in her hair came up next.

"Camui Gakupo.” A boy with long violet hair in a ponytail followed. 

"Oliver Smith-Sato." The boy wearing an eye patch went up. Miu continued to hand back tests to the students.

“Athena Anderson,” Miu said next as Athena, a girl with long hair came next. 

"Nakajima Megumi," Gumi walked towards Miu and received her test back. Sitting on the desk next to Kokone, the girls smiled at each other, glad they both did alright.

'But SeeU will have to be a rep though,' Gumi thought, sighing a bit and feeling slightly gloomy, knowing that she failed to prevent it.

“Mizuno Ken,” Miu announced next, and without waiting for him to retrieve his test, she continued to say the next few names, speaking at a faster pace. “Itou One, Sakurada Mizki, Iori Yuzuru, Tsukimiya Takahashi.” The students rushed towards her, realizing she had no intention in slowing down as she revealed the results. Afterwards, she didn’t wait for the students to come towards her anymore as she began to throw the papers away from her grasp, forcing the rest of them to catch them or pick them up from the floor.

“Luo Tianyi. Furukawa Miki. Ichinose Roro. Satou Sasara.”

“What if I become a rep?” Ann whispered to Maki, and SeeU heard as well. “What would I tell my mother?”

“Please,” Maki replied. “You’re too good for that. If you get in last, you can tell the principal, and you’ll be fine.”

“Al King. Takanashi Yuu. Li Haiyi, Tsurumaki Maki.”

“Yes!” Maki, along with a few others, replied to their names, and Maki ran off, abandoning Ann and SeeU as she grabbed her test.

“Ann, my pencils broke,” SeeU told her.

“What?”

“I’m rep for sure.”

“Bruno Amaro. Shion Kaito. Nekomura Iroha.”

As they ran towards her, SeeU felt her fingers being gently squeezed by another hand.

“I’ll try to get us both out of this if we fall together,” Ann whispered.

“Ann…”

“Takako Wil. Manabe Kyo. Kanade Akira.”

The last of the students ran up, and only the two girls, along with Len, were left. As everyone sat down, they glanced towards the back, some startled by Ann’s presence, as they all thought she would’ve gotten a better score.

“Barely escaping from becoming a rep,” Miu spoke up, and everyone -except Flower who kept her attention on her book- focused on the three students, wondering who would be spared and who would be doomed. 

“Ann Jody.”

Immediately, Ann ran towards Miu and received her test. She sat herself in the last available desk, sighing in relief as she doesn’t have to do any chores for her class. With her out, Len and SeeU remained. Len gave his cheekiest smile while SeeU buried her head with her books, not liking any attention she gained. 

“For you two,” Miu spoke directly at them, “I have chores for you to do immediately.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So besides changing names, adding more details and overall enhancing, I don't think there's much new content in this chapter. I'm also updating my other fic on the same time, and then I will resume catching up. I want to do some other writing too, but even though I'm home all the time, I seem to always keep myself occupied. I'll continue to update the best I can though. Stay safe, be kind.


	5. End of the First Day

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I updated the tags a bit, though I added only a little bit. I'll probably update it more in the near future, but for now, I feel this would do.

"Ow!" The blonde male winced in slight pain after the bar of soap landed in front of him. Although it wasn’t a major injury, he couldn’t help but feel his skin growing a bit sore. SeeU, with her face blushing in embarrassed rage, gave looks of daggers at him.

"You're the worst!"

"I said I was sorry!" Len yelled back at her. Len learned at that moment, the timid girl can be frightening when angered, even though he didn’t mean to push her buttons. They were cleaning the bathrooms together, as assigned by Miu, and with the extensive mopping they’ve done, they didn’t think twice on how wet it would be to walk on the floor. Len didn’t realize it until it was too late. Being careless for only a second, his foot lost power as Len found himself being pulled by gravity. His head slammed into SeeU’s legs, and he winced in pain as his head slammed on the hard surface.

Meanwhile, SeeU was already pessimistic with the events that occurred. Her pencils, once tidy and prepared, were all damaged before an important test happened, and as a result, she was humiliated. Her classmates’ stares were engraved in her mind, knowing they all saw her and labeled her “the first representative.” Cleaning up the rooms didn’t help. Until then, it had been years since she had cleaned the bathroom, and back then, it was always with her friends, but she was cleaning with a boy she barely knew. Len’s excessive narrations didn’t help her, so she tried to keep distance, until she felt soft hair tickling down her legs, followed by a thump beneath her. 

Looking down and seeing his head in an unwanted spot only worsened her mood, and her first thought was to let her voice out in a loud cry and hit him with everything she had: her mop, a bucket, and the bars of soap. 

“Get away!!”  
“I didn’t see anything!”

After the scream-fest, SeeU walked out, though very carefully as she knew the floors were wet. Entering the bathroom next door, she stood in the middle of the room, breathing deeply as she slowed down and thought about it. She just wanted to finish her chores and get to dance class quickly, but the workload Miu gave was taking up a lot of her time. The sun was beginning to set, and it only made SeeU feel worse. 

How could her first day of school be so bad, she wondered all day.

“I’m sorry,” SeeU heard his voice and she turned around, seeing his eyes. “I fell and didn’t mean to hurt you,” Len continued. “I didn’t see anything, I swear!”

“It’s okay,” SeeU said meekly. “Just-”

“You don’t like cleaning, do you?”

“It’s… not that,” she answered. “I have to go to practice.”

“You do?” Len asked. “Then go. I’ll take care of things by myself.”

“What?” SeeU didn’t believe it at first. A boy she barely met was willing to do her work just so she can make it to her class. “You don’t have to,” she tried to speak, but he interrupted.

“You’ve been miserable all day,” Len pointed out. “You need a break. Do something that will make you happy.”

“But-”

“Go! I’m fine by myself,” he said with a smile. 

“Really? It doesn’t sound fair…”

“Would you rather keep cleaning the bathrooms?”

“...”

“You see? Just go, and let’s hope that we have less work tomorrow,” Len told her. “I won’t tell anyone I let you leave early… well, except my friend, but she won’t tell either.”

“Friend?”

“Yeah, Gumi.”

SeeU was tempted to ask more, but as she glanced at the clock, she realized there wasn’t much time left until practice began. Bowing slightly, she ran out, desperate to not be late.

“I’ll see you tomorrow!”

xxx 

After an hour of dancing, the four girls retreated to a pricey restaurant nearby. With her high salary, Ann paid for all their meals. She planned their dinner, insisting it was to celebrate the start of a new year, but SeeU suspected that Ann wanted to complain.

“This sucks!” Ann cried out. “Everyone was looking at me, and they told other students! Now word is spreading that I’m an idiot!”

“How did you get so low of a score though?” One asked. “I thought you could get Bs or higher so easily. You did that well in grade school.”

“I was just taken by surprise, okay!?” 

“How did SeeU get a worse score though?” asked Maki before she looked directly at her. “How did you fail so badly?” SeeU was about to answer until Ann spoke up.

“Someone broke her pencils.”

“What?” Maki replied.

“Wait, but that girl who sat next to SeeU,” One began to speak her thoughts. “She was being weird.”

“Yeah, a girl who falls off her chair and then asks for a spare pencil,” Maki laughed. “What a weirdo.”

“She didn’t help,” Ann sighed while pulling out her phone. “She was being distracting.”

“But she did better than me on the test,” One pointed out. “I don’t think her pencils broke… what if she noticed SeeU’s broken pencils and tried to help secretly?” SeeU heard this and then recalled the scene, only to realize that maybe, One was right.

“Who is she?” SeeU asked.

“Hmm… I think her name is Megumi,” One answered.

“Why do we care about her anyways?” asked Maki while SeeU remembered Len telling her about a friend named Gumi. Was she the girl Len was referring to?

“Damn it,” Ann cursed under her breath. While the conversation continued, she unlocked her phone and went on the app to view the gossip, discovering the ones that mentioned her. “They’re talking about me failing the test.”

“Seriously!?” Maki reacted. “Nosy people!”

“Ignore the posts,” One advises. “If you need to, just say you were not prepared since it was a pop quiz.”

“My mom’s going to freak out when she finds out,” Ann sighed. “My agent takes care of all my needs as long as I get good grades. That was the deal I made to my mom,” Ann complained. “She’ll cancel all my modeling plans for this month if I don’t get a better score!”

“And we have to take a test every week,” Maki adds on. “And she decides everything based on our scores!”

“This year is going to suck,” One sighed. “SeeU, won’t you complain to your mom?”

“Eh?” She wanted to only listen to their conversations, but she found herself needing to respond to something she didn’t want to discuss.

“No.”

“No?” Maki looked at her in confusion. “Don’t you think it’s unfair that you have to do all the work because someone broke your pencils?”

“Yeah,” Ann added. “I was going to tell my agent, and if you need me to, I can have her complain for you.”

“No, it’s that…” SeeU struggled to explain, but One caught on. 

“Because she’s not going to get it,” One said. “Like how she got mad that time years ago.” SeeU nodded while Ann became confused.

“What happened?”

“I had to apply for CFM,” SeeU explained. “Mom forced me to, so I was studying everyday, but I got sick on the day of exams.”

“I see,” Ann sighed. 

“She keeps comparing me to my sister and it’s annoying,” SeeU complained. 

“I see,” Ann sighed, realizing how lucky she was, as she at least had an agent who would go above and beyond to make Ann happy. If Ann’s mother found out about the failing grades she tried to hide, she could only believe her mother would be greatly unsatisfied.

xxx

“Hey, Kokone.”

“Yeah?”

“What did you think of her? Our homeroom teacher?”

“She,” Kokone began to think for a bit before she answered, “I don’t know.” Kokone didn’t dislike her or feared her as some of her classmates, yet she didn’t put her up on a pedestal like a few did. She did agree with some things Miu said in class. “Ms. Miura was telling the truth in some aspects.”

“I see,” Gumi sighed. “She seemed alright, I mean,” she continued as a smile formed on her face. “She put Ann in her place.”

“Yes,” Kokone chucked as she closed her book. The two girls sat together in a cafe, opting to eat dinner together after attending cram school. Waiting for their food, the girls took out their books to review the materials they were given by their teachers.

“Mr. Hiyama, Ms. Sakine, and Ms. Megurine were surprised when they saw that desk,” Gumi reminded her friend. After Miu left to attend the next class, their teachers, one by one for each lesson, was startled by the large and ugly table that housed two students, but they wouldn’t utter a word or comment on it. “It seemed we didn’t want to say anything either. We were still confused.”

“Len though,” Kokone sighed. “I messaged him and he didn’t reply yet. He’s not dumb, so how did he get in last on the test.”

“Maybe he’s taken his vow on not pursuing high school seriously,” Gumi said. “He told me he would rather work and give all of his money to his sisters.”

“I guess it’s his choice,” Kokone said and then she remembered, “Gumi, why did you do that?”

“Do what?”

“You fell in class and lied about your pencil being broken.”

“Yeah,” Gumi smiled and began to explain. “That girl next to me had her pencils broken. I felt bad so I wanted to give her my spare one.”

“That girl? Ann’s friend?” Kokone asked.

“Yeah.”

“You… you know it’s Ann’s friend right?” Kokone reminded her. “A friend of Ann.”

“I know,” Gumi answered. “But I felt a bit bad. She also doesn’t seem to act like Ann based on all the times I’ve seen them.”

“Seriously,” Kokone spoke up. “Don’t try to help her again.”

“Kokone,” Gumi tried to talk to her, but she kept going.

“I really don’t think a person who would be friends with someone like Ann is worth helping for any reason.”

“Hmm… okay,” Gumi said, not wanting to debate with her friend. She understood why Kokone said it. With how Ann behaved, people who admired her either behaved similarly or were too blind to see that Ann wasn’t that sweet of a person, at least according to both Gumi and Kokone. However, when Gumi observed SeeU with Ann and the other girls, she noticed SeeU never had that malicious grin or look in her eye. If anything, SeeU seemed to hide in the background, being seen as Ann’s timid friend. Gumi wondered if, maybe, SeeU was genuinely nicer.

Her phone vibrated, and Gumi picked it up, sliding the phone to unlock it.

“Hey, Miku and Leon answered me,” Gumi told Kokone.

“Those adults you met a few years ago?” Kokone asked. “You still talk to them?”

“Of course,” Gumi answered. “They let me stay with them when my parents were fighting that one time.”

“I see,” Kokone replied. “Was it when I was out of town?”

“Yeah,” said Gumi. “It was by chance, but they found me walking alone in the rain when I wanted to stay away from my house, so they took me to the karaoke bar that night. I felt comforted by them, so I told them about my parents,” Gumi confessed. “It’d be nice if they were my parents instead.”

“I see why you like them so much,” Kokone replied. “Are we going to tell them about our homeroom teacher?”

“Of course,” Gumi smiled. “It sounds like a fun story to share.”

“A story,” Kokone laughed, “except it’s our reality.”

xxx

“I’m home!” Len cried out into his home, and his loud entrance nearly surprised the only adult in the house.

“Len? What happened?” His guardian, Yukari began to ask him as he further entered their small and quiet house. “It’s so late. Your sisters were worried.”

“I had to do chores at school,” he answered.

“Eh,” Yukari sighed. “Do chores at school take this long? It’s almost 21:00.”

“Yeah, there were only two of us doing chores, since my homeroom teacher felt it should be the ones who had the worst grades in our pop quiz today.”

“Ah,” Yukari yawned, trying to fight her fatigue while listening to Len. “Why did you fail? Or was everyone else super smart?”

“No one else wanted to be stuck doing chores for a week, so I failed on purpose,” Len explained.

“You’re too kind,” Yukari told him. “There’s food on top of the oven. I can warm it up for you.”

“No, I can take care of it,” Len said as he came towards the woman, pushing her up the stairs. “You’re tired. Go rest.”

“Huh, okay,” Yukari yawned again. “Good night,” she said as she went up the stairs. Len stayed in his spot briefly, observing the adult until she was out of sight, and he sighed. When his family abandoned him and his sisters, Yukari was the only one who would take them in. She had no experience with parenting and believed she’d live a life without children until these three kids stepped into her life, yet she never complained. 

Len wanted to do more for her, as well as he wanted to do more for his sisters, so he felt there was no reason for him to continue his education when he can just go straight to work and give all of his earnings to his family.

But he made a deal with Yukari, who was worried about this decision:

“At least graduate from junior high school first. Then you can do what you want to do.”

Len turned the oven on, his food warming up in the pan as he reflected on the day’s events. He knew that if Miu intended to behave this way for the rest of the year, the class may be moody and miserable. He then wondered, what could be any worse? He sighed, knowing he’ll have to wait until tomorrow, when as part of the school’s tradition, the classes are given a free meal of rice and curry in their classroom. 

“Nii-chan,” said a young girl who came down to see Len. “Nee-chan, he’s home!” She yelled towards the upper floor before she entered the kitchen. Her long pink hair in braided pigtails fluttered slightly as she ran towards Len. “Nii-chan, why are you home so late?”

“I had to do chores,” he explained to her.

“It took this long to do school chores?” She asked a similar question to what Yukari had asked, and before Len could answer, another girl walked in.

“Len, what did you do that you had to come home so late?”

“I failed a test on purpose,” he answered as he turned off his oven, knowing his meal was warmed up enough.

“Test?” Rin asked. “Who gives tests on the first day of school?”

“The new teacher,” he answered.

“Ms. Miura Mayuko?”

“Yep!” He answered. 

“A new teacher gave a test today?” The little sister, young Rana, asked. “Why?”

“She’s the devil,” he answered with a cheeky grin, knowing it would scare her.

“What!? The devil!” 

“Len, don’t scare her,” Rin sighed. “Although I wonder if I was better off with your teacher compared to dumb Ms. Mirai,” she said as she sat down, and Len sat next to her as he prepared to eat. Rana went to sit across from them in their little kitchen table as Rin continued to complain. “Stupid Mirai wouldn’t stop crying about how she was cheated, claiming Ann was supposed to be in her homeroom class.”

“Ann, the model?” Rana asked. “My classmates like her. They say she is pretty.”

“In a way, she is,” Len told her. “But pretty isn’t everything.”

“Mirai isn’t even a good teacher,” Rin complained again. “Ann is your classmate, Len?”

“Yes, sis, she’s in my class,” Len answered.

“Is Mirai one of your teachers?”

“Nope.”

“Oh, she’ll complain again,” Rin sighed once more. “I heard that Ann did badly on the pop quiz.”

“Yep,” Len answered. “Our teacher forced us to take a quiz. I failed on purpose, and Ann was one of the last kids to be called. She called our names based on how well we did.”

“Okay, but why did you fail on purpose?”

“Because she decides things based on grades.”

“... I see,” Rin said, and Len continued to eat while Rana tried to start up conversations with her two older siblings.

xxx

"So how is she?"

SeeU had been getting herself ready for bed when her mother entered her bedroom without permission and suddenly asked her a simple question. The blonde didn't understand what she meant at first.

"How is who?" SeeU asked.

"Your homeroom teacher, of course. Is she a good teacher?" Kasumi asked again. SeeU was not willing to tell her mother about the day, about SeeU's test grade, and the fact she had been made a representative.

"She is great," SeeU simply told her mother. She didn't know if it was a lie or not. She felt it was too soon to judge, even though she most definitely left a huge impression on most of the class.

"Really, isn't that great?" Kasumi smiled at her daughter. "If you work hard, you can get into a private high school like your sister," she cheered before she rambled on. “I hope you don’t get sick again like you did three years ago for that exam, so please take care of your health too!” Kasumi smiled, unaware of how deep her words cut her daughter as she walked away, leaving the room. "Good night, SeeU!"

"Good night…" SeeU closed her bedroom door. She collapsed onto her bed and released a frustrated sigh. She still remembered that day when the exams to attend CFM school occurred, and SeeU was too ill that day to continue, thus losing her only chance to attend a school her sister attended. SeeU never forgot the anger and sorrow her mother felt.

“You need to take care of yourself better! Please don’t mess up your chance for a private high school!”

What was good about a private school, SeeU wondered. She knew it’d help her attend a good college, except SeeU didn’t know what she wanted to do for her future yet, and she wondered if she’d truly be happy if she followed her mother’s desires all the time. Releasing one last sigh, SeeU grabbed the blankets in her bed and covered herself, worrying for what the next day would bring.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel this is the first chapter with massive revision. I looked at the previous version and ended up changing the scenes as well as adding a new scene. Yes, Leon has a new role, and so does Rin. I'm debating on posting the previous version just for comparison, though the only place I think of posting is deviantART (because apparently I don't know any other place to post this kind of stuff). Stay safe, readers, and be kind.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Both top and bottom notes are copy+paste from FF)
> 
> I had that day when, after thinking I had everything in life under control or well maintained so I can focus on writing without issues, one little thing happens (actually not that little but it's personal), and the control is gone. So I really couldn't do as much writing as I wanted to, I needed to focus on what I can do in the situation I got into while keeping sanity. Everything is getting better, but my sleeping schedule is wrecked a bit, so I'm now in the "finding a new schedule" mood and figuring out where exactly to put in "writing" ...
> 
> Also too much Animal Crossing I got myself into... ANYWAYS:
> 
> I don't know why, when I posted the next chapter of my other fic, 15 Year Love Story, I thought I had posted this chapter too and went on to chapter 7 (still not done as of now). I looked back today and... here we are, now I have this chapter posted for real (oops)!

A new day arrived: the second day of school and one where the school celebrated the start of a new year with a grand meal of rice and curry, along with little snacks and milk to drink. By time the lunch period came, many were excited, waiting in anticipation for their meals.

But in Ms. Miura Mayuko’s class, everyone sat silently. With how cold and uncaring she had been the previous day, students were too nervous to speak. Even the most outspoken shied away from saying anything, instead silently watching Len and SeeU gather the food they picked up to the classroom. Their stomachs growled, but the class had no choice but to wait patiently while SeeU and Len went as fast as they could to put out everything in each tray. Finally, it was time to pour the curry in each tray, and SeeU and Len looked at one another, growing confused and trying to figure out who would pour and who would hold the heavy, hot pot. 

“Hurry up,” Miu spoke up harshly as she noticed the two weren’t doing their work. “What are you two doing?”

“Y-yeah!” SeeU spoke up and without a second thought, she grabbed the handle. For a moment, she had forgotten how hot and heavy the pot was, and once it hit her stomach lightly, she flinched and her control was lost. Her foot slid, and she lost her balance, finding herself falling as her fingers released the handle. Len, noticing quickly, extended his arms out and grabbed her, holding her briefly to save her from her fall as the curry splashed off from the pot, coating the floor in front of the two, as well as for the entire class to witness in horror. 

All at once, no one held back from reacting. After waiting so long and sitting quietly for their food to come, the sight of spilled curry ignited a spark in many. The quieter students like Flower and Miki could only stare at the spillage in shock, while the rest of the class began their strings of complaints.

"I'm sorry!" SeeU apologized and bowed to her teacher. Her face grew bright red, feeling embarrassed for spilling the curry. Miu kept quiet, only looking at the two reps as Len grabbed the now-empty pot. 

"I'll go and get more," Len announced, but before he could leave, Miu yelled at him.

"No!"

SeeU and Len looked at her, confused at first for her refusing them to get spare food.

“Distribute the remaining curry,” she commanded, uncaring that her class was looking at her in horror. “Serve to me first, and then distribute the rest based on grades.”

"But…" Len began while looking inside the pot. "There is only about enough for five people."

"I don't care," Miu simply told them, and the class didn’t bother to keep quiet on their complaints.

"That means I won't get any…" Kyo muttered.

"I want curry…" Iroha whispered.

"I'm really hungry," Chika announced. "I want curry too."

"If you think food is unlimited," Miu began, looking directly at her class. "Then you are mistaken. We live in a country that relies on imports from other countries. What would happen if there was a crop failure in agricultural countries? What if imports stopped coming? You will all starve to death." Miu stared at each and every student. "We cannot afford to waste food. As a society, we waste more than 20% of imported food. It's nothing except 'I like this' or 'I hate this.' They should eat peacefully like we will." Miu turned to the two representatives. "If you want to hate someone or blame anyone for not getting any curry, go ahead and hate yourselves. Rather than hating the representatives who spilled the food, hate yourselves for not getting a better grade along with those two."

SeeU and Len stood, processing Mayu's words before she spoke again, this time at them. "What are you doing?" The teacher asked them. "The food break will be over soon, hurry up with the curry." Having no choice but to listen to their, the two walked towards her with the pot filled with very little curry left. Reaching her, they served their teacher a spoonful of curry. Then they walked on towards Zhiyu Moke, one of the two students who gained a perfect score. He sat at the front, making it quick for the two reps to serve him curry. Flower, the other student with a perfect score, was next, and Len and SeeU had to travel to the back to serve her. Then the next to serve were students Akari and Piko, the next students with high scores. 

Len glanced at the pot, seeing how few was left inside, not enough to be a spoonful. He looked up at Kokone, who would’ve gotten the curry next and mouthed ‘sorry’ to his friend.

“There’s no more food to serve a spoonful,” he told Miu. 

“Then let’s eat,” Miu announced as she began to eat. SeeU and Len took off their aprons, masks, and gloves, and they grabbed a mop and rugs, cleaning up the mess as their class ate. Some students who remained hungry devoured their food while trying to remind themselves that something was missing on their tray. Other students, due to the scene, had lost their appetite and ate slowly.

xxx 

The break continued on. Most students were outside as the weather was calm. Some were playing ball games, some were in clubs, and others were just hanging around. Students not in Miura’s class spoke happily about their lunch to one another, reciting how lively their classes had been with their lunch. The students in Miura’s class were the opposite, as many complained and whined over the events.

Ann, most of all, was greatly dissatisfied. It was only the second day, and she hated her class. She hated her teacher, and she wouldn’t allow it anymore. Being a girl who expected everything to go her way, she marched down the hallways, ignoring everyone who tried to talk to her, amaze her, or flirt with her as she barged into the office. 

“Where’s Miss Kariya?” Ann cried out. 

“She’s not here,” an assistant called out. “Is there any problem, miss?”

“No, fine.” Ann sighed, knowing this was an assistant who didn’t like her.

“Then leave,” she said, and Ann walked out. Maki, One, and SeeU stood there, waiting for Ann.

“She’s not there,” Ann sighed.

“Seriously,” Maki sighed. “Ann, I thought she had everything under control.”

“Things were fine last year,” Ann said quietly. She looked up, and nearby was a teacher she felt she could trust.

“Mr. Hiyama!” She cried out, pushing aside her friends as she ran towards him. 

“Ann?” The teacher, who was heading towards the lounge for a quick teacher meeting, turned and saw her. “Is something wrong?” Despite feeling Ann was shallow at best, he chose to listen, and when he did, his eyes widened, unable to grasp what she was saying at first, but the confirmation from Maki and One was enough for him to bring it up in the lounge.

xxx 

Being alone in the hallways, Gumi wandered around, growing bored and curious as she passed by the teacher’s lounge. Knowing she could hear the conversations from the room, she walked near the door, and she knelt to the door, peeking through the slits so she could faintly see. Upon recognizing Miu, Gumi became interested, wondering what the teachers would talk about. 

"I will try to help you in any way I can," Yamada, the eldest of the six teachers that sat together, informed the two teachers. "With that…"

"May I say something?" Kiyoteru asked his co-worker.

"What is it?" Yamato questioned.

"I heard something from a student in your class, Miura." Hearing her teacher's name, Gumi’s attention became more hyper focused, and she wondered what would come next. “Is it true only four students had curry and you wouldn’t allow anyone to get spare food?”

“What?” Mirai looked directly at Miu. “You gave Ann curry, right?”

“Always had to be Ann,” Luka said loudly. “She cares about no one but that bitch.”

“Luka, please don’t badmouth the students,” Kiyoteru told her. 

“And I think Miura has her own way of teacher,” Meiko spoke up, trying to ease the tension. “Let’s have a good start, okay?”

“But is it true?” Kiyoteru asked. “I heard everything is decided through a weekly test. What is that about? This is a public school, so not everyone has the same abilities. Don't you think there will be a problem if you make the students do chores based on how low their grades are?"

"Kiyoteru, since it's Miu-" Meiko began to say again, but she was interrupted.

"If you have that much free time," Miu's words came out, the woman's eyes never leaving her laptop. "Shouldn't you be thinking about your own class?"

"What do you mean?" Kiyoteru questioned. Gumi continued to watch them even through the door. She was being nosy, but she didn't care. She wanted to see how this meeting will go with Miu there.

"It appears that there are students in your homeroom who ask to go to the restroom, and then they roam around the school. It also seems that things disappear. I heard that there is bullying going on as well."

"Really?" Kiyoteru questioned.

"Earlier today, I had to warn a student from your class about roaming around the building," Meiko added, slightly laughing.

"I'm sorry," Kiyoteru apologized.

“You should be more concerned about disciplining them than pleasing them just to be called a good teacher,” Miu further added.

“I see,” Kiyoteru sighed. “I’m sorry.”

“You just need to be more strict,” Luka spoke up, “unlike Mirai here.”

“Luka, please,” Yamato spoke up, but Mirai snapped.

“What is your problem!?” She screamed, uncaring that her loud voice caught the attention of everyone in the room, and Gumi sighed. She never had Mirai Komachi as a teacher, but she knew Mirai showed heavy favoritism towards Ann. That was no secret to every student in the school, and it sparked many to massively dislike her as she ignorantly spoke poorly about everyone else in front of them. This also indirectly led a few students to dislike Ann in that aspect, though they wouldn't admit it publicly, out of fear for what her loyal followers would do to them. 

“I tell you repeatedly to take care of Ann, and you never listen,” Luka pointed out. “Instead of punishing her, you tell her she does nothing wrong. Honestly, I’m glad you’re not her homeroom teacher this year.”

“Just shut up!!” Mirai snapped. “Ann is fine!”

“Actually,” Kiyoteru spoke up. “Luka is right.”

“Yeah,” Meiko sighed. “I asked you to reprimand her repeatedly, and you do nothing about it.”

“Just shut up,” Mirai said again. “She’s a model! She needs to focus on her job too.”

“Stupid.”

All five teachers looked at Miura, and Gumi’s eyes widened, not expecting Miu to describe another teacher as that.

“Excuse me?”

“While Kiyoteru is foolish to want to be seen as a good teacher,” Miura explained, “you intentionally ignore the problems you have all because you forget that Ann’s education comes first.”

“But-”

“You are a terrible teacher.”

“Excuse me!?”

“If you really were a good teacher, you’d punish your students fairly and hold them accountable for their mistakes. Instead, you intentionally create trouble with your favoritism. That’s why your class last year had a high count of bullying incidents. Simply put, you are a terrible teacher.”

The bell rang, leading Gumi to get up and walk fast, and then she ran to her classroom when it was safe to. Although she didn’t see how it ended, Gumi found great pleasure in seeing Miu put Mirai in her place. Maybe, after this, Mirai would improve her behavior.

_'You just want to be called a good teacher.'_

xxx 

The day ended, and the students in the class moved on, either heading straight home or attending clubs. Gumi conversed with Len and Kokone freely with SeeU staring briefly at them. She recalled the event from the previous day, when Gumi, who sat next to her, suddenly fell from her chair.

“Was she really trying to help me?” SeeU wondered, and then Gumi departed with Kokone. Wishing to know the answer, SeeU followed, at first slowly, but then she sped up to catch up.

“Megumi!” SeeU cried out, and Gumi and Kokone turned around. SeeU noticed their faces, seeing they were both confused, but Gumi appeared curious while Kokone was suspicious. “Gumi, right?”

“Yeah, hi,” Gumi smiled at her. 

“When you fell yesterday, were you trying to give me a pencil?” SeeU asked while twiddling her thumbs.

“Yeah,” Gumi answered. “I couldn’t call out your name because she’d notice. I still failed though.”

“Yeah, I’m sorry,” SeeU smiled, finding herself suddenly feeling comfortable with her. 

“I’ll see you later,” Gumi waved and turned around, heading towards her club. Kokone followed and SeeU waved back.

“Gumi,” Kokone sighed.

“What?”

“I’ll be in the library, okay?” Kokone said. It wasn’t what she was going to tell her, but as they were close to her location, she decided to depart. 

“I’ll see you when I’m done,” Gumi told her while departing. She headed down the stairs, heading towards the gym when she recognized a classmate in the distance.

“You don’t want to go to a private school?”

Gumi stopped as she stared at her teacher, who walked next to the classmate, a girl with her white hair in a ponytail and standing tall and modest. Flower nodded, and Miu continued.

“If you ever change your mind, you can come and see me anytime,” she told her. "I think you can get into any private school with that intelligent brain of yours."

“Okay,” Flower answered quietly. “Goodbye, teacher,” she said as she headed out, and when she came towards the shoe locker, she paused, and Flower noticed Gumi. Their eyes met briefly, as Gumi stared at her, memorizing her features. For a moment, she found Flower to be not just intelligent but pretty as well. When Flower turned to walk away, Gumi kept her eyes on her, beginning to desire to learn more and more about Flower. 

“Nakajima Megumi!” her teacher’s voice broke her out of her distraction. Gumi turned and realized Miu stood in front of her and was looking directly at her. Up front, Gumi can see and understand how her homeroom teacher can be frightening. The woman’s features were cold and her eyes were seemingly distant and dark as they seemed to stare into the girl’s soul.

"It seems that someone has ratted out on me to another teacher," Miu began, slowly walking towards Gumi. "Do you know anything about it?" Ratting her out? Gumi wondered and realized someone tried to snitch on Miu to another teacher, which explained how Kiyoteru knew about Miu’s teachings. 

‘You did your best,’ was something she’d say to the one who snitched, but she had no idea who went and done it.

“No,” Gumi answered honestly, and she saw a small smirk grow on the woman’s face.

"If you find out who it was, please deliver this message to them." Mayu's breath hit the girl's face. "If you have any complaints, come to me immediately."

Gumi nodded, and Miu walked on. Gumi turned to see her teacher walk away, and she wondered, thinking maybe Miu as her homeroom teacher would not be a bad experience. It was only the second day...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Still a rewrite, not yet at a point where I need to write something completely new... until the next chapter. I'll explain that when I update this. One thing I want to add, I remember when writing the original take I did, and I had frequently mentioned a teacher who spoiled Ann but I never really went in-depth, and when I was looking to revise chapters (before my decision to just delete the OR and start anew), I ended up thinking "this is a bit of a missed opportunity honestly," so here we go. If was going to increase staff in this fic along with increasing the number of students and classes, might as well mention that type of teacher in full glory.
> 
> Not that it would affect the plot in anyway, but okay, well, thank you for your patience. I'm hoping I'm back to regularly (weekly) updating. I'm also rotating between posting this and my other fic until I finish 15 Year Love Story (yes, that one will be done first, I believe).


	7. Peaceful singing... is it peaceful?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I went on AO3 to post, and it seemed there was a bit of an error in this fic (only five out of six chapters were up). I fixed it, so all six (well, seven now) should be readable. 
> 
> Life update, I'm still trying to fix my schedule, and I am still writing (almost daily), albeit very, very slowly, as in I'm writing only one section per day until I finish a chapter. After this, I'm going to work on the next chapter of 15 Year Love Story. Hopefully I'll get my schedule right back on track so I can resume updating regularly.

“You’re leaving? You don’t go to work on the weekends. What are you doing!?”

“Didn’t I tell you? I’m going on a work trip for the day. I need to go.”

“You didn’t say anything to me!!”

Sighing deeply, SeeU turned her music player volume up higher, and she turned to her phone. Although she should continue studying, she was finding it difficult to do so when her parents couldn’t keep to themselves for one minute. She slid her phone open and glanced at her contacts. Her finger laid on top of a green phone icon next to Ann’s name, but her eyes then turned to a newly added contact: Len. SeeU wouldn’t tell her friends, but for one week that she had to clean with him, she ended up enjoying his company. The boy seemed to have existed only to make the tedious chores feel less of a bother. His cheerfulness was enough to encourage her and ultimately, she felt she could finish her work in a short time. 

Additionally, Len didn’t care if SeeU stopped just to study. He kept working and on occasions, he played a song on his phone for her to listen to while she read her cards, focusing on memorizing the studying materials in her head. When the last day of the week came, SeeU quietly asked him for his number. He didn’t ask why. He just gave it to her without a care. 

“Hello, Len?”

“You called?”

“Yeah,” SeeU sighed. “I just need a distraction. My family is being loud.”

“Oh yeah,” she heard him laugh through the phone. “I have a loud family too. My sisters fight all the time.”

“I see,” she smiled while imagining it in her head, a scene of him sitting away from his bickering sisters. “My parents were yelling, so I felt like tuning them out. I’ll study when they’re done.”

“You’ve been studying a lot,” he told her. “That’s good. It seems you know what to do for your future.”

“Well,” SeeU mumbled, unsure of what to say, but he kept talking.

“When I graduate from middle school, I’m going to work.”

“Work?” Her voice grew a bit louder, surprised by his response. “Why work? Are you not going to high school?”

“No,” he answered. “I’m going to work and give my money to my little sister.”

“Oh,” she said quietly, feeling she was learning more of him in the one week she met him. 

“Anyways, you’ll do fine studying, and your pencils will be safe this time,” he said next.

“Yeah, though I feel bad for the next person who would be working instead.”

“I’ll cheer them up,” he declared to her. “I’ll make sure doing all the work isn’t painful.”

“I know,” SeeU began to say, but she started hesitating.

“You were about to say something?” Len asked.

“Yeah, my friend Ann…”

“Oh yeah, you’re friends with her.” When he said it, SeeU heard his tone change slightly, sounding a bit bitter and less cheerful than before, but she continued.

“She told me she’d get her agent to talk to our teacher, but she hasn’t said anything since…”

“Oh? Hm… I wouldn’t be surprised if the devil defeated her.”

“Huh?”

“Gumi told me she overheard the teachers talking on the day we spilled the curry. It seemed someone complained to the other teachers to get her in trouble, but the devil spoke back.”

“Eh?” 

SeeU and her friends didn’t know what happened after Ann told Kiyoteru about the lunch accident along with the other complaints. When nothing had changed in the following days, the girls felt they couldn’t trust the other teachers anymore, with Ann believing Kiyoteru said nothing. 

_“I’m telling my agent,” Ann had told SeeU. “Enough is enough. At least she’ll do something.”_

“Yeah,” Len continued. “It seems our teachers won’t intervene anymore. Did you notice they stopped complaining after Tuesday? It looks like our devil homeroom teacher will always win, so I wouldn’t be surprised if Ann’s agent couldn’t persuade her.”

“I see,” SeeU said back. Even when she continued to converse with him, she couldn’t stop thinking about it and decided she’d ask Ann for any updates the moment she would see her later in the day.

xxx 

“Onegaiiii, Onegaiiiiii!!”

Two girls sang cheerfully, their melody seemingly out of tune yet filled with joy. With the first week over, Gumi and Kokone agreed to celebrate with an hour of singing. Kokone didn’t expect it to be this fun, she found herself losing control, cheerfully encouraging Gumi to further sing her heart out. 

Outside, in the hallway, their voices gained the attention of several men. They came closer to the door, peaking through the window and noticing the two girls and their lively performances.

“They’re cute…”  
“Maybe we can meet them.”  
“Nothing wrong with barging in.”

“Wait… they look rather young.”

“Oh stop! I’m sure they’re just grown women. They might look young.”

“Hey! What are you doing?”

Coming towards them and gaining their attention was a man with a tan and bleached hair. The group of men stared, gawking slightly and observing him, recognizing that he wasn’t their kind yet his tag on his shirt showed who was in charge in the room.

“Do you need help?” He asked them, but his tone of voice seemed a bit cold, almost like he was out to protect someone.

“Oh we-” one person was about to speak.

“We’re sorry, we’ll be back with our group!” Another claimed, and he placed his hand on the door handle when the man spoke up.

“You’re with them?” He asked.

“Yes!”

“Of course!”

“What are their names?”

“Eh?”

A smirk grew on his face as the hesitation grew on the men and their eyes widened, not expecting such a question.

“You’re all quiet,” he continued. “You said you are all with those two girls, no?”

“How-” 

He was nowhere near the door. How could he know that only two girls were present?

“Leave.”

Realizing they wouldn’t win, the men walked on, disappointed that they couldn’t get what they wanted. When it was only him left, he sighed. Kokone and Gumi just wanted a day of fun, which was why he lingered on the floor, knowing someone predatory could try to lurk on the top floor where the most desired rooms were. He didn’t have to give them that type of room, yet he wanted to, and his girlfriend wished for it too.

“Leon? Are you here?” Her voice echoed a bit in the hallway, and he walked towards her, turning on the corner to find her.

“Hey, Miku.”

“Are they having fun?”

“Yes, they are very excited.”

“That’s good,” Miku smiled. “Anything for Gumi to be happy.”

xxx 

The morning had long ended, and SeeU, dressed in her plain orange t-shirt, white skirt, and cat ears clipped to her, ran through the door, and her sweater and bag was held in her arms as she walked out. Her mother spoke up, bidding her farewell, and seemingly acting as if her argument with SeeU’s father never happened. SeeU waved goodbye, but only for a second as she ran downwards, running farther from the calm neighborhood she lived in and towards the busier streets and taller buildings, the area with large crowds and busy sales occurring at a rapid pace. 

“We’ll be at the karaoke building,” Ann had messaged her, and SeeU pulled out her phone, inserting the directions to her destination as she further wandered down the streets. Carefully, she observed her surroundings so she wouldn’t bump into anyone that came in close contact with her. After a long walk, she paused,noticing a building nearby.  
Maybe, SeeU wondered, it wouldn’t hurt to buy snacks. She could buy enough for herself and for her three friends. It wouldn’t be a lot since there was food offered, but it’d be for them to eat afterwards, to take home after their fun in the room of singing. 

One push of the door brought the ringing music to her ears, and she stepped in, looking around like a loss puppy. She wandered left and right, taking out of the shelves the snacks she and her friends would enjoy, and she walked around, heading to the register, only to pause when the three kids from her class came to her vision. They paused as well, their conversation ceasing as their eyes focused on her. Mizki turned away, Gakupo tried to grin, although it came out rather awkwardly, and Piko’s eyes glared deeply into SeeU’s soul. SeeU, with her face growing more red and her heart dancing with anxiety, nodded and walked past them, her pace growing stronger as she headed towards the register.

“Of course she’ll walk by us like that,” Piko said maliciously, uncaring that SeeU -as well as other buyers- could hear him. “Coward. Just like her friends.”

“Piko, shush!” Gakupo tried to calm him down, but Piko wouldn’t be quiet. 

“Don’t be nice to her,” he hissed. “She’s friends with that girl who played with you!” SeeU tried to ignore them as she took out her money, but she could hear the cashier sighing in annoyance, possibly with the boys.

“She’s not involved. Leave her be,” Gakupo tried to defend SeeU with no success.

“She’s her friend! She’ll support all the bad things your dumb ex Maki and that ungrateful selfish idol do.”

“Piko, please-”

“Mizki!!”

SeeU flinched as the cashier’s voice roared in front of her, but SeeU was taken by surprised that the one being scolded was the girl who kept quiet. 

“If your friends can’t shut up, then take them outside! They’re disturbing the customers!!” The woman, her body wide and her face growing red in a heated fury, marched over to the group, abandoning SeeU briefly. “Go outside and play if you can’t be helpful here and disturbing the customers!”

“I’m sorry,” Piko nodded as he and Gakupo walked away, heading out of the store. Mizki bowed down slowly, apologizing before she left too.

“I’m sorry, mother.”

As the three walked away, the woman, remaining in a foul mood, returned and send SeeU off, and the blonde walked out, feeling more anxious over Piko’s harsh words, as well as she felt bad for Mizki, realizing she most likely felt embarrassed as well.

xxx 

It took only a few more minutes until she made it. With the guidance of the workers, SeeU pressed the button on the elevator, and she felt herself rising towards the sky. The bag was held in her arms tightly as her mind echoed over the scene, the moments at the store on replay. The door opened, and three girls sat together, with SeeU heading towards them.

“About time you came,” Maki came. “We can go inside in a few minutes. Whoever is inside will leave, I hope.”

“You brought snacks!” Ann cheered, standing up and taking the bag out of SeeU’s arms. 

“Yeah,” she said quietly, but her mind was still set on that moment, and One noticed quickly that SeeU’s attention wasn’t entirely to them.

“SeeU?” One asked. “Did something happen?”

“Eh, not really?” SeeU tried to shrug it off, but then she decided to ask anyway. “Maki, I saw Gakupo.”

“Oh,” Maki’s attention became less enthusiastic. “Yeah, him,” she sighed. 

“He was pretty nice,” One recalled. “But you didn’t feel anything, right?”

“You didn’t talk to him, did you?” Maki asked SeeU. She shook her head, and Maki sighed again. “It would be awkward to talk to him honestly.”

“Isn’t Piko lying about you and Gakupo though?” Ann asked, and SeeU witnessed her three friends further conversing in topics she couldn’t bring herself to understand.

“He needs to shut up!” Ann cried.

“He acts like he’s better than us,” One complained. “I’m tired of it.”

“Kaito hates him,” Ann sighed. “But no, his other friends like him, so he has to put up with him.”

While the girls gossip on and on, only SeeU noticed the door opening, and two girls stepped out. The girl with long hair stared down and read her phone, while the girl with short hair turned briefly, her eyes meeting SeeU’s. With a smile, she waved briefly before she disappeared from SeeU’s sight, and the blonde blinked, recognizing her as the one who tried to aid her.

“Yes! We can go in now!” Maki cheered as she got up and ran to the room. The girls followed, and SeeU overheard their conversation ending.

“I feel Kaito would leave them only if Mizki left or something.”

“That girl… she needs to be less timid and speak for herself.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Copy+paste from FF: (I think this is the last time I'll write this, since I think I well established that I also post on FF and consistently keep the same notes)
> 
> Finally, I got to a chapter that I had to write from scratch. In the OG, this point was when the protagonists were talking to their classmates for two chapters (because there were 22 people to go through), and at the time, I did this because a reviewer asked. A reviewer said they wanted to know more about the class, so I decided to give a bit of insight to every person. Yeah, I'm not doing that this time, for several reasons. Firstly, to better fit how some middle schools are, the number of students total is 32, and honestly I was not up to writing about all 32 of them, especially considering only a small portion of the students are protagonists. Additionally, I don't feel it's necessary to give insight on characters that are not going to put that much focus on the story, or at least not yet, so when the time comes to give focus on a particular character, I will do that. 
> 
> Instead this chapter focuses a bit more on SeeU and her relationship with her pals, as well as we see Leon (yes, I wasn't going to ditch him after I did him dirty like that. I probably could've had Len be this role, but ehhh... I wanted to use a relationship of Leon and Miku honestly, just a preference of mine for this time). Next chapter will be Gumi centered, for sure. Thank you.


	8. That feeling of being happy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It felt weird to update and rewrite or revise this the same time news broke out that an idol I like was outed for bullying one of their members. That may have influenced a bit in writing this. Good reminder that not all celebs we are who they really are.

She bid farewell to Kokone and with a sigh, Gumi headed back to her home. Of course, she wouldn’t stay long, only to drop off a few items before heading out again. She only hoped her crabby parents weren’t home because any time they were together, a storm erupted, as Gumi best described it. Sighing again, with that knowledge engraved in her mind at the moment, she kept going, walking past a park, coated with blossoms sprinkling the scene in its variety of colors.

There, she stopped upon noticing a familiar girl with pure snow hair, sitting among the petals as she absorbed the novel that rested calmly on her legs. Her curiosity peaking as she recalled the features she had seen earlier that week, Gumi steered away from her intended path, instead choosing to get closer to the girl. So much she wanted to know. All she knew was her name was Harukaze Flower and, from Gumi’s recollection, she had no intention to aim for a high quality education despite being the smartest among the class. Gumi wound up desiring more, knowing Flower was a student who kept to herself since the first year.

“What do you want?”

Gumi was only tiptoeing closer to Flower, having thought she kept quiet, but it seemed it wasn’t enough or Flower had high sensor hearing. 

“I want to say hi,” Gumi answered casually. Saying no more, Flower turned and Gumi’s eyes once again met the strong violet orbs that belonged to her. “You seem to like to read a lot.”

“Yeah,” was all Flower could say before she stood up. Her loose white hair hung softly on her jacket, and as she held her book, Flower brushed off the petals from her jeans with her free hand. “I’ll make this clear. I just want to get middle school done and over with.”

“Huh?” Gumi kept her attention towards her, and when she stepped forward, getting closer to her, Flower stepped back, but she never looked away.

“Why do you want to be near me?”

“Why… because, I want to get to know you.”

“I see…” She blinked softly and then turned around, walking away, and before Gumi could step forward, Flower paused once more and turned to her.

“I’m not interested in getting close to anyone, so please leave me be.”

Flower walked off, and Gumi, despite wanting to get closer, yearning to learn more, stayed put, thinking that Flower was shy or stressed or unsure of how to get close to people. Though Gumi would know how keeping people away felt. 

xxx 

Time passed onward, and Gumi had slipped back into her home, thankfully silent, and went back out without a care. The sun warmed down on her, and the spring breeze danced with her short hair. She headed back towards the busy street, as it was in her way towards her next destination. After a long while, she found herself back in the busy streets, only to recognize a girl from her class. 

Gumi only knew of Miki from how the other students spoke, but Gumi could tell it was all senseless rumor that spread. Whenever Ann didn’t like someone, that person was ostracized, and Miki was one of those few students who received cruel treatment…

All for not treating Ann as “special.”

From Gumi’s understanding, only so few students be vocal about their hate towards Ann and not get hurt by it, but others, like Miki, were harassed excessively, and when Gumi noticed her in the crowd, she also noticed a few boys nearby, looking at her and recognizing Miki. 

“It’s that girl who doesn’t like our idol.”  
“She really think she’s better than Ann, gross.”  
“Do you think people will notice if we just went and took her wallet?”

Gumi, hearing every word, didn’t think twice before she ran towards Miki, her hands quickly grasping her shoulders as she said loudly, “Hi! I’m so happy we got to meet up!”

“Huh!?”

“Hey,” Gumi whispered suddenly. “Some brats want to hurt you, so stay with me.”

“Wait, what?” 

Miki was in town only to buy ingredients for her mother, hoping the students in her school would leave her be, but this was the first time someone was aiding her, protecting her, simply keeping her safe, and Miki was at a loss of words for how to react. 

School, very often, was hell for her. Either she was shunned by most students, or she was picked on and tormented just for one thing other students didn’t like. Although there were a few who were picked on as well, along with those who tried to ease her pain away, Miki kept herself to be, not feeling she can trust anyone to be by her side. She had friends before, and in one day, they were all gone, just because she didn’t like someone they like. 

The new school year was proving to be no different from the previous year, and only one week had passed. Already,from the first day, she had to get her foot bandaged after unknowingly putting on a tack filled shoe. Minor inconveniences occurred, with missing textbooks and vandalized papers. It seemed like it would be another year, but it’d be the last year, or so she hoped. With the week over, Miki was glad it was the weekend, as she had hoped no one would bother her. 

Except it seemed it would not have mattered, if it weren’t for this girl. Gumi. A girl Miki knew nothing about, apart from the fact that she was in her class.

“I think we walked far enough,” Gumi said, looking back and seeing the boys were absent. “Wish they left you alone, but you can just hang out with me.”

“What?”

“Wait… why don’t we hang out!?” The big grin came to Gumi’s face, while Miki stared back, unsure of how to respond. Spend time with a girl she barely knew? If it weren’t for the fact that Gumi did save her from a group of mischievous boys, Miki would’ve said no instantly. She instead wondered if it was okay to spend time with Gumi, and she began to think she was a bit different from everyone else from her school, as no one offered to spend any time with Miki, only pitying her or treating her coldly. 

xxx

Some kids in school, the ones with the most malicious intentions, had tried to follow her to her home before. Miki was most thankful for her parents, for they often kept them away and eventually moved to a new home, much farther away from their former area. Miki was most pleased with the move, as her former home was hostile long before the bullying began. Despite this, a few bad kids tried to follow her, but the sight of Miki’s nightmare fueling attitude of a father was enough to turn them away. 

Yet when Gumi came with Miki and saw him, she gave him a smile of sweetness.

“Nice to meet you, I’m Gumi.”

It was as if she wasn’t scared, and just like that, Miki’s father loosen up a bit, and Miki noticed. She realized he trusted Gumi, and he welcomed her briefly.

“I want her to meet a friend,” Gumi told him. “I want to be friends, since we’re in the same class.”

Miki’s mother came in and spoke to Gumi, and in only a few minutes, both parents allowed Miki to leave, sending the message to Miki that it was okay to go with Gumi. Although hesitant, she went along with it, knowing to trust her parents. At the same time, she was shocked that they let her go with Gumi. After Miki’s best friend left her the way he did, her parents toughen up and created a barrier, which had worked like a charm as the ones who came to Miki’s home proved to have bad intentions. 

Miki felt awkward the entire journey she had with Gumi to Len’s home. Even if her parents felt it was safe, Miki didn’t know what to say. At the same time, it seemed Gumi assumed Miki was a timid girl, so she sparked vivid conversations.

“When you were younger, in grade school, did you hide in your closet, believing you could go to another world?” Gumi asked. “I did it many times when I was younger, thinking if I hid inside, I’ll go somewhere far away, like in that movie I saw. A little girl hid in the closet, and she went to a magical world.”

“Did you want to go somewhere faraway?” Miki spoke up, finding herself growing a little curious.

“Yeah. I’ll study hard so I can go somewhere far away, though I didn’t tell my friends yet.”

“Where do you want to go?”

“I don’t know yet.”

Gumi continued to chatter on and on, and Miki was slowly making sense of Gumi’s supposed nonsense. As the walk continued on, Miki’s wariness slowly faded, and ultimately, she popped the question.

“So you won’t hurt me?”

“Why would I?” Gumi asked. “I’m not Ann. I don’t even like her.”

“Really?” Miki knew where were students who didn’t like the girl, but unless they were headstrong and well liked, such as classmate Sora. The ones who didn’t like her, however, kept quiet after seeing how Miki was treated, knowing if they said anything, they’d most likely be in the same situation. Only a very few people ever tried to intervene, but it changed nothing. Many had the mentality that if you disliked or even criticized such an idol in their school, it was unforgivable.

The teacher who criticized her the most had finally left, so Miu came in.

“She doesn’t seem genuine,” Gumi said. “Ann feels very, hmmm, I guess fake is the way to put it. I get that she’s one of a kind in a sense that she’s the pretty blonde girl, and not a lot of models fit that, but most models I hear have very mean attitudes. Last week, one was exposed for bullying another model. Plus, she claims to get good grades, but she was among the last ones to get called up, so a few kids in our school are noticing something is off.”

For a girl who expressed a cheerful attitude, Miki noticed how intelligent Gumi can be, enough to even notice the grade. Miki didn’t know how to feel about Miu just yet, but having that sudden exam without warning on the first day was the beginning of a portion of the sheep to notice something didn’t feel right regarding Ann.

xxx

“Rana! Rana!” Gumi had cried out in glee, and her arms held captive the young child. “You’re getting bigger each time I see you!”

“Your hold is getting stronger!” Rana cried out, though her tone highlighted how much she enjoyed the attention. They sat together in the table where dinner would come, and across from them was Miki and Rin. 

“I was surprised to see you come today,” Rin said, and Miki could only nod meekly. Rin was among the few who used herself as a shield for Miki, and although it didn’t change anything, Miki was grateful for it. “Are you friends with Gumi?”

“We’re in the same class,” Gumi answered without trying to keep her voice low. “And that demon is in class too.”

“I heard,” Rin sighed. “But that teacher you have for homeroom isn’t feeding into her, is she?”

“Nope!” Gumi answered, and Miki gave a small grin as she noticed Gumi providing the biggest smile. “For once, she sees what it’s like to be treated normally.”

“As she should,” Rin smiled. Within seconds, footsteps echoed briefly, and Miki turned, noticing him.

“Nice, you’re here, like you said repeatedly in text,” Len said, giving his cheekiest smile to Gumi. He turned and his eyes widened a bit in a state of surprise. “Miki? Eh?”

“Yes! Miki is here!” Gumi cheered. “I bumped into her and decided to take her.” Miki kept quiet as she observed Len’s face.

“I see,” he smiled. “Hope Auntie is okay with it.”

“Of course I am,” Yukari called out from the kitchen. “Food is almost done, so it won’t be long.”

“Good, don’t keep us waiting!” Len cried out.

“Len, please!” Rin sighed, though a smile remained on her face. Yukari arrived, and the table became decorated with many goodies for the kids to consume. The time passed on, and for the first time in a long while, Miki felt blessed. She struggled to remember the last time she enjoyed a meal with a group of other children, yet it didn’t matter as she became happy. 

“Miki is smiling,” Len noticed. “Maybe she needs us after all.”

“Eh?” Miki’s arm, in quick reaction, covered her face briefly as her face flushed up.

“Don’t hide it,” Rin said. “For once, enjoy it. That girl isn’t here to ruin it and neither are her sheep.”

“Or the devil,” Gumi snickered, and they knew who she meant. “By the way, Miki, do you like Miu?”

“Her? Our homeroom teacher?” Miki asked. “She’s scary.”

“She is,” Len replied. “But she won’t stop me. “I’ll just skip the morning class.”

“Huh?”

“You’re going to do it?” Gumi asked. “You’re too kind,” she added. 

“Too kind? Didn’t you tell me before school started you want to be friends with everyone in class? All because it’s our last year?”

“Duh.”

“Even Ann?”

“... Anyways!!”

“Really though,” Miki interrupted. “Wouldn’t she be mad if you skipped the morning test?”

“If she gets mad, I’ll handle it,” Len reassured her. “She can’t hurt me.”

“Imagine if the next person is Ann,” Gumi said next. “Although based on how that went last time, it could be her.”

“Then I’d be doing all the work,” Len giggled. “Imagine if someone’s pencils break like SeeU’s did.”

“Oh, she told you?” Gumi asked.

“Her pencils broke?” Miki responded. As much as she didn’t like her, largely due to the friendship she had with Ann, Miki felt a sense of pity for her when this came to her attention. 

“Oh yes! SeeU called me!” Len continued, but he was interrupted by Gumi.

“You have her number?”

“Yeah, but listen! You remember that time when you heard the teachers talking and Miu asked you if you knew who snitched on her?”

“Yeah?”

“Ann did it.”

“Oh,” and Miki noticed Gumi falling victim to a mass fit of giggles. “I should’ve known!”

“Only the first week of school, and finally, she is treated the way she should be.”

‘Finally,’ Miki said in her head.

xxx

The hours went by without a care, and the sun vanished. The moon glimmers in bliss, shining on the two girls who walked side by side, having left the home of the twins. 

“Wasn’t it fun?” Gumi asked. “I love going to Len’s house. He’s a wonderful friend, and Rin is super cool. Rana is so cute.”

“It was nice,” Miki admitted. “Their caretaker is nice too,” Miki added before asking, “is there no father or mother?”

“No,” Gumi answered. “It’s better without a father or mother,” she continued. “I’d rather not have a father or mother.”

“Really?” Miki asked. 

“Yeah, though I know not everyone is the same,” Gumi answered. “Your father and mother seemed to really love you and look after you when I met them. I wish mine were like that, but…” she trailed off, and Miki realized how blessed she was, and how her parents were always there to do the best for her, realizing not everyone had that pleasure. 

“You don’t need to…” Miki tried to find the right words, but Gumi ceased walking. Miki looked at her, noticing Gumi’s attention went towards what was beneath the bridge they were on. 

“She’s there,” Gumi said, and without giving Miki the chance to register what was occurring, Gumi grabbed her hand and ran, leading her towards the entrance of the graveyard that lies beneath them. Her eyes couldn’t possibly deceive her. She saw her there.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It feels I've been a bit slow in updating, but I'm working on updating as fast I can, yet I'm also writing and fixing one or two sections a day. There's new content here as well as a rewrite of what was the ninth chapter in the original take. I hope I was able to flesh them out well. It seems at this rate, it'll be a weekly update (or almost weekly). 


	9. She was there

“But I saw her here just five minutes ago!” Gumi complained loudly. Miki remained confused, but she was also pleased to know that they were the only one’s present in the yard. Had there been more people, the two girls would’ve been criticized, most likely.

“Exactly who was here?” Miki asked quietly. She never got to see who Gumi saw, and Gumi never outright told her anything except “She’s here! I saw her here!” Who was the ‘she?’ 

“The devil was here! Ms. Miu! I saw her here!” Gumi explained in a frantic hurry. “I want to know why she’s in a place like this!”

“Eh? Our homeroom teacher?” 

Miki’s curiosity peaked, yet at the same time, she was silently glad to notice Miu was no longer there. Miki didn’t wish to see her homeroom teacher outside of school, but also she wondered why she’d be present in this yard. Was there a murder she involved herself in? Witchcraft, maybe? Miki continued to think of the silly scenarios until she noticed the tombstone next to her. A picture of a little girl rested on top of the stone, and she wore a huge smile on her face. With dark hair tied in pigtails and smiling so cheerfully, Miki thought the child was adorable. Her eyes looked up to see the writing engraved on the stone: 

_Kaai Yuki  
December 4, 2003 - September 13, 2009_

Miki’s eyes widen slightly. She knew the world could be scary, frightening, and overall a miserable place to live in as she was forced into pain herself, yet she never expected to see a tombstone for a young child. The idea that this young girl didn’t live so long left a feeling of sadness to her, and Miki began to pity, as well as to feel guilt in that, even though she was suffering, she was still alive. Gumi’s ramblings were tuned out as Miki could only wonder what grief her parents were experiencing, and too deep in her thought, Miki didn’t notice Gumi standing next to her and noticing the tomb. 

“Oh, how sad.” Gumi’s voice felt empty to Miki’s ears, and it left her to wonder if Gumi was used to such a thing already. Gumi seemed to be very cheerful and lost in her own world, yet as Miki got to properly meet her for the first time, Miki realized Gumi was one who would defend anyone, as she went and saved Miki from lurking bullies. 

“Gumi, did you mean it?”

“Hm?”

“You said you wanted to be my friend,” Miki recalled. “Did you mean it?”

“Yeah, I did,” Gumi smiled. “And not just because you get tormented by that girl. I think underneath your quietness, there’s an amazing person, and I want to know you.”

“I see,” and for once, Miki openly showed her smile, until she realized the time. “It’s late! I need to get home!” From there, the two girls bid farewell and departed. As she saw Miki leave before her eyes, Gumi first thought of Miu, and she knew she was there. Gumi saw her and wanted to know more. Then her mind drifted back to the image of the young girl, and Gumi first thought that child was a lot like Miu, yet Gumi brushed that idea off. She instead remembered that the child, Yuki, lived as long as the boy Gumi knew from years ago, and she was the same age as that boy when her life ended.

His ended too, and Gumi continued to miss him. 

xxx 

For the first time in such a long while, Miki was happy. It had been too long since she spent a day outside of school with a classmate, and Miki was treated decently for once. Even though it was only for a day, Miki was able to temporarily forget her problems. She continued to reflect on the joy she experienced, but as she turned to a corner, the joy slipped out of her.

The familiar woman known as her teacher stood tall near where Miki’s home was, and the young girl grew paralyzed in fear. Although she was glad that Miu put Ann and the other mean students in their place, Miki was still terrified of her. Everything about Miu resembled the idea of a horror film to Miki, and she stood silently. Miu’s face turned to see her, and Miki noticed the lack of emotion in her face as Miu began to walk towards her, stopping when she was in front of her. 

“It seems you had a great time today, spending a day with those two idiots,” Miu began to tell her, and Miki remained in a state of shock as her eyes widened. How did she know? “What a shame though” Miu continued. “Can you really consider them a friend just for that? Don’t you think she just pitied you?” Miki bit her lip slightly, remembering what Gumi told her, and she slowly began to doubt as she heard Miu’s words. Gumi did give her a good time, but what if she left her behind like all the others did? “They’re only being nice to you because they pity you,” Miu added. 

Miki looked away from Miu’s eyes as she further bit harder on her lips, suppressing the tears that began to form as she began to fear that she might never again have a day as fun as that evening. The happiness she had before was replaced with melancholy as she knew when school began again, her life would be back to living as an outcast.

“Poor Miki, you don’t have a single friend in the world, do you?” Miu asked without a care. “Everyone is out to get you, tormenting you every day,” she taunted. Miki stood there, looking towards the ground as she fought against her tears. “How about,” Miu began once again. “You become friendly with me?” Miki looked up, confused by what the woman was saying.

“I must go now,” Miu said, and then she began to walk past Miki, pausing as she stood next to her. “Do think about it, being friendly with me,” Miu said, and a small, sinister smile began to show. “There are many benefits of siding with me.” After that, Miu took another step and walked further away. Still in a state of shock, the teacher’s words echoed in Miki’s head. 

_“There are many benefits of siding with me.”_

xxx 

In the early Monday dew, SeeU went on her way to school as the flashcards were held in her hand. Her eyes kept going back and forth between the paths she took and the cards she was studying. The test was the first thing to happen in class for the day, and SeeU studied for quite a long while. She was doing everything she could to spare herself this time. As she kept studying, she remembered Len. 

“I’m going to skip the test.”

“Good morning!” a male voice cried out in front of her. Shocked by the sudden call, SeeU quickly looked up, but her reaction softened once she saw who it was.

“Good morning, Len,” she softly greeted back. “Are you really going to skip the test?”

“Of course,” Len answered. “I honestly don’t mind doing the chores. It’s one less person in class being miserable, after all.”

“Alright then,” SeeU said. “I’ll see you after the test.” She continued to walk towards the school.

“Hey!” Len cried out. SeeU turned to him, wondering what he wanted. Staring at her for a bit, Len smiled. “Good luck on the test.”

A smile came on her face. “Thank you.” Turning back around, she headed to school.

xxx 

She remained at her desk, keeping her attention directly on her study sheets as she tuned out everyone in the room. Many students spoke loudly, though it was mostly to distract themselves from the fact that they would be taking a test first thing. Only a few were studying like SeeU, yet she kept her attention heavily focused on studying, to a point where she didn’t think to stop for a break until it was too late.

The bell rang as her friends walked in, and SeeU looked up, realizing their teacher would arrive in a few seconds. Her friends walked by, allowing SeeU to speak up.

“Where did you guys go?” She asked. 

“We went to the restroom together,” One answered quickly.

“Eh,” SeeU looked at them as she realized she should have gone with them too. “Why didn’t you call me over?”

“Sorry,” Ann apologized. “I was going to ask, but you looked so busy studying.”

“We didn’t want to bother you,” Maki added. SeeU could only give them a sweet smile and knew it was her fault for being too focused on studying. Maybe her need for the bathroom won’t be an emergency, but it was too soon to tell. She realized she needed to go, yet it was too late as Miu entered the room. As the woman placed her belongings on the podium, SeeU tried not to tremble in her seat, and her legs couldn’t remain still as she held her stomach more.

“Class representative.” The voice of her teacher snapped SeeU out of her thoughts. She moved her head up and made eye contact with Miu. “What are you doing?” Miu asked strictly. “What about gorei?”

SeeU quickly realized that she needed to do her morning chore. “Stand,” she announced as she began the ritual, and she, along with all her classmates in the room stood. “Bow.” Everyone bowed in silence. “Sit,” and then every student sat down back to their seats. As she sat down, SeeU felt the need to go use the restroom growing more recklessly.

Miu passed out the tests, and every student grabbed one. “Like last week,” Miu began. “You will have only twenty minutes to take the test. The two with the worst grades will be the next class representatives.” Miu looked at all of her students, one by one. She then spotted the empty seat next to SeeU. “Nevermind,” she spoke again. “Only one student, the one with the worst grade, will be a representative. The student here with the second worst grade, you can do yourself a favor and thank Mr. Kagamine when you see him after the test.”

The students remained seated, unwilling to move at all. None of them wanted to be a representative at all. In all through that silence, SeeU grew more uncomfortable. She knew it was too late and she had set herself up for trouble.

“Now,” Miu’s voice rang out to the class. “Begin.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this was originally the tenth chapter in the original fic I made before. Part 1 of the story will end in the next chapter, and the story will continue as is. I don't think there was a lot of revising here apart of name-swapping and fixing typos (though if I fixed all of them... that's a good question. I think I did, but I'll admit to being blind and not very observant).


	10. The End Result of the Second Test

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Before anyone asks, yes I did change my writing name here. I decided to have a different name for writing and just keep "Momo Aria" (or in the site xxAriaxx) for dance uploads on my YT. Plus to get behind on why this name, Dreamlite references my island name in New Horizons, and Sproutling referring to sprouts growing, and I thought of Bokujou Monogatari (Story of Seasons aka Harvest Moon) when I thought of it. 
> 
> With that out of the way, this chapter really did not take long to do, just added one scene and revised. I'll explain more in the end. 
> 
> Also, I said this in response to someone's comment, but yes, I had thought of reposting the original story after deleting it right on a whim due to too much personal feelings, and as I was revising the plotline and story, I was thinking "I should repost the original story just to poke fun at my 16yo self's poor grammar," and at least one desires it, so I'm thinking eventually I'll repost the story here. Grammar issues, spelling errors, and everything.

Len remained outdoors, smiling when he heard the bell rang. He knew the students would begin their test to spare themselves from the fate of being the next rep. Whoever it was, he’ll take care of them. Even if it was someone he didn’t like, he’d take care of them. Len knew SeeU wouldn’t be a rep again. He believed she wouldn’t be one again. He had seen how much time she spent studying and looking after herself to ensure she won’t work again. Although, Len remained puzzled on what happened to her pencils and how they were broken when they all were in the assembly… unless someone sabotaged her, but that raised more questions for him.

“Hey, you’re that kid…”

Len, who sat by the river that neighbored the school, looked up and saw the tall, tanned man with hair as blonde as his. Len recognized him.

“The guy at the karaoke building,” he said. “The one Gumi likes.”

“I see you remember me,” Leon laughed. “What are you doing out here? I heard the bell ring not too long ago. Isn’t that your school?”

“Yeah, but I’m ditching class now,” Len answered truthfully with a smile. “I’ll go back when that class ends.”

“Isn’t it homeroom?”

“Yeah, but we now have to take a test every Monday morning,” Len told him. “The kids with the worst test grades have to do the chores for the week. No one wants to do them, so I’m sacrificing myself.”

“What a lad,” Leon laughed. He sat down next to him while staring at the stream of water. “I used to ditch a lot in middle school too.”

“Really?” Len looked up at the man. “Bad teachers? Bad classmates? I have both,” he told him.

“Mix of both,” Leon laughed. “Though I didn’t see the point in going to school. I just wanted to work instead to help my nanny.”

“Really?”

“Yeah,” Leon said as he recalled the memories. “My mom was struggling, so she had to leave me in my nanny’s care when she went to work when I was little. She did remarry, but I didn’t want to be in the way of her marriage, so I stayed with my nanny until her death.”

“I see,” Len replied. “So sorry.”

“After that was when I did see my mother and her husband properly. I also met my little sister then,” Leon looked up to the school when he continued to speak. “She’s in that school right now.”

“Oh,” Len looked up and then he checked his phone. “I think it’s been almost 20 minutes now.”

“Is that how long the test takes?”

“Yeah,” Len answered as he stood up. “Let’s talk again,” he said. “I’m going to start heading back.”

“Take care of yourself,” Leon told him, and Len ran on his way, heading back to the classroom of hell, as he would like to call it.

xxx 

Everyone sat silently with attention focused entirely on their test… almost everyone was focused on their test. SeeU tried to focus, but through every minute that had passed, her need to go use the restroom worsened. She couldn’t even focus on the test thanks to that. All she had accomplished through the seven minutes that went by was writing her name and the first three answers to the questions. Sweat was beginning to form on her face. SeeU tried to focus on the test, but that grew more difficult each second that passed.

Several more minutes passed, and Flower had become the first to complete her test like the previous week. Turning her paper around, the girl took notice of SeeU, like she had last week. Once again, she noticed that the girl was in distress, just exactly like last week. As SeeU wrote, her pencil tip broke, exactly like the previous week. However, unlike last week, SeeU did not care anymore, and Flower realized the situation was different.

She really needed to go, but using the restroom in the middle of class was forbidden under Miu’s teaching. SeeU was well aware of it, so asking to go would be useless. However, something inside her was telling her to go ask anyway. She ignored that urge, knowing that she will be denied. Then several more minutes went by. The need to go was getting worse. More sweat was born. SeeU continued to suffer in her seat. That desire to ask was starting to bloom.

Finally, SeeU didn’t care anymore.

“Sensei,” she quietly called for her teacher’s attention. Miu turned to face the blonde haired girl.

“What is it?”

“Please let me use the toilet.” SeeU sounded sincerely honest when she had said that in her quiet voice. Miu simply stared at her, not giving an answer at all. “Sensei…” SeeU spoke again. Some students began to look up from their test and turned to face SeeU.

“I thought I told you,” Miu finally spoke. “Going to the bathroom during class is forbidden.”

SeeU looked at her. “I’m sorry… but,” she slowly spoke. “I can’t hold it.” SeeU stood up from her seat as most students in the classroom stared at her. Usually, she would be embarrassed to get any kind of attention on her, but her needs were far more important at this point. “I’m sorry,” she apologized as she bowed slowly.

“If you want to go,” Miu spoke after several seconds of silence. “Then go.” SeeU stood straight and looked at her in shock. “But,” Miu continued on. “I will not let you continue the test.”

SeeU stood there, stunned by Miu’s words. She stood silently for a few more seconds before she sat down in defeat. She really needed to go, but she had no idea that she would have to stop taking the test just for doing so. Her goal was to not be a class representative. Sitting down, SeeU picked up her pencil and tried to focus again.

Some of her classmates had noticed. She really needed to go. This was a clear emergency, and yet, Miu refused to allow her to leave unless she was willing to quit on taking the test. At this point, a few were already thinking about how unfair Miu was at that time, while others simply did not care enough and continued on to their test.

“Sensei,” a strong, mature voice echoed through the room. The owner of the voice stood up, and the majority of the same students who had stared at SeeU turned from their test again.

“What is it?” Miu asked as she looked at her student.

“Please let Kim Dahee go to the bathroom.”

After those words were said, every single student in the room had stopped themselves from continuing the test. All of them turned to face Flower.

“She…” she began as she looked at SeeU. “She looks like she really needs to go.”

“You know the rules,” Miu simply told Flower. “It’s her fault for not going during break.”

“I don’t think always following the rules is the best option.” Everyone stared at Flower, shocked and surprised that she, the student who had been given special privileges, dared to speak back to Miu. “That’s a top, heavy bureaucracy.”

Miu simply stared at Flower, a small smile appearing on her face. “Really?” she slowly began. “I’m afraid that she might be pretending just so she can cheat,” she told her with a serious face.

“Sensei, you know that Kim is not the kind of person who would go and cheat.” Flower spoke back once again, and then she continued on with her words. “Sensei, you are very strict, but I kept my mouth shut and obeyed you because most of the time, you were right.” She paused for a moment, and then she continued. “Isn’t this bullying though? Kim studied very hard for today just so she won’t be a class representative again. You know that very well. You are going to make that go to waste.” Flower kept her gaze locked with her teacher’s golden orbs.

“I feel that you are wrong.”

After ending her speech with that phrase, all eyes were glued on Flower. A few students silently clapped under their desks, glad that someone had finally spoken out. A few others looked at each other and smiled, enjoying what they have witnessed. Others simply turned to Miu, curious to how she would react to Flower’s words against her.

Miu simply stared at Flower for a few seconds. Afterwards, a faint smile had appeared on her face as she stood up and walked towards the white haired girl. Stopping right in front of Flower’s desk, Miu leaned in a bit, so only Flower would hear her words.

“You go with her then,” she spoke quietly but strictly. “But in return, I won’t let you come back to finish the test.”

“I don’t care,” was Flower’s response. She left her desk to where SeeU was at. “Let’s go,” she said, giving the girl her hand. Staring at her, SeeU slowly accepted and stood from her desk. The two girls then walked out of the room. A few students watched them leave, a few others continued to look at each other, and the rest went to finish their tests.

Miu stood in front of Flower’s desk in a daze. Slowly, she looked down at the turned over test Flower had written on. With her hand, Miu flipped the test over. It was amazing. In ten minutes, or even less, the student had answered every single question. Reading every single answer, Miu could tell that they were all correct. She really was a smart girl. Too bad that her fate was now sealed.

As the girls left, Gumi stared at the door, her curiosity to learn more about Flower grew. She claimed she needed no one, but she stood up for someone. Perhaps, Flower held a caring heart inside her rough exterior. 

xxx 

The moment they had left the room, Flower began to run to the closest bathroom while firmly holding on to SeeU’s hand. The two girls ran in the hallways as quickly as possible. Once they turned at a corner, Flower spotted a sign that signalled a restroom was nearby. She continued to run quickly, determined to get SeeU to the toilet. 

But then, SeeU stopped and released her hold on Flower, and she fell to the ground. After feeling her hand had gone empty, Flower slowly stopped. Standing there for a few seconds, she slowly turned around to see SeeU. Then, she looked at the ground below the girl.

A transparent puddle was formed, and it continued to grow bigger each second. Flower continued to stare at SeeU, noticing that tears were beginning to form on her eyes. Soon, a tear had fallen from SeeU’s face to the puddle below her. Turning around entirely, Flower slowly walked towards SeeU, careful to not step on the puddle.

“Let’s go to the nurse,” she told her. “I’m sure they have a change of underwear.” SeeU slowly looked up at the tall girl in front of her. Slight red and water were on her eyes. She slowly looked down.

“I can go there by myself,” she quietly told her.

“Okay,” Flower responded. “I’ll clean up here then while you go.”

SeeU slowly looked up at Flower again, and slowly, she stood up from her spot. “Thank you.” Then she slowly walked around her mess, heading to the nurse’s office. After taking a few steps, SeeU paused and turned to Flower. The girl had also turned to her, and it appeared that she had read her mind.

“Don’t worry,” Flower told her. “I won’t tell anyone.”

“Thank you,” SeeU told her in response. At that moment, when she heard those words, SeeU felt heavily grateful. Turning back around, she walked to the office..

xxx 

Slowly closing the door, SeeU headed back to the classroom. Throughout the walk, all she could do was grimly think of how the rest of the day would be. She knew she would be the next representative. It had been obvious. She only answered three of the endless questions on it. SeeU mentally slapped herself. She should have gone to the restroom earlier. That way, she would have never made that accident right in front of her classmate.

Once she reached the classroom, the bell ranged. When she entered, she found Flower, sitting in her seat at the back corner, reading her book. SeeU wanted to come up to her, simply to thank her again. With only a few steps in the classroom, someone had pat on her back. Turning around in surprise, SeeU caught the sight of Len.

“How did you do?” He asked cheerfully. “Did you get one hundred percent?” SeeU looked down again. She did not know what to say to him. He had cheered for her to do well, and here she was, going to be a rep with him again. Before she could even speak, Miu had entered the room. All students who were standing, including SeeU and Len, went straight to their seats. After seating herself, SeeU went on to do the morning school routine.

“Stand,” SeeU began, but Miu immediately spoke back.

“You don’t have to do it anymore.”

“Eh?” SeeU was confused. She failed the test, yet she didn’t have to do the command anymore?

“For this week, I will let someone else be a rep.” Hearing those words, SeeU’s eyes widen. She was no longer a class rep? Everyone in the room looked around, curious to who had flunked the test. Who was the next class rep?

Miu left her spot behind the podium and walked towards Len. “To you, the idiot who skipped the test,” Len smiled slightly, although he did not appreciate being called an idiot. Miu then turned to Flower. “And you, who is very thoughtful of your classmates.”

Flower stared at Miu, registering what she had said with an emotionless face. Everyone was staring, half of them shocked with what they had heard. Flower was intelligent. It was hard to believe that she had failed the test, unless there was a different excuse.

Miu turned around and went back to the front of the room while speaking. “Since you are so nice, I am sure you don’t mind becoming a rep for Miss Kim Dahee’s sake, right?” Flower sat there in silence, and second thoughts were coming in the students’ minds. Everyone was confused at this point.

“From now on,” Miu announced to the class. “Not only those who fail the tests, but those who disobey me will become the reps regardless of how well they did on the test.”

Silence filled the atmosphere of the room. All the students in the room were slowly taking in Miu’s words. It was bad enough that they had tried so hard to not fail the test, but they now also had to fear attempting to speak back to Miu. Len was right. Not a single one of them was willing to be a rep for a week.

“What are you doing?” Miu scolded Flower. “Hurry up and do gorei,” she commanded. “Time should not be wasted.”

Flower sat there for a few more seconds in silence, until finally, she stood. “Stand,” she announced softly, and everyone stood. “Bow.” Everyone bowed. “Sit.” Then everyone sat back down.

“Representatives,” Miu called out. “The blackboard is dirty. Hurry up and clean it. Otherwise, class can not start.” Len sighed and stood up. This was not what he expected. He thought the next rep would be someone who had the worst grade. He wondered what happened, and what led Flower to talk back to her. Flower stood up as well, and they both walked towards the board, grabbing erasers and cleaning it. SeeU simply watched them, still unable to accept what had happened.

“Isn’t that nice, Kim-san?” Miu’s voice caught SeeU’s attention. “You have two nice friends who are willing to become representatives in your place.” Willing? That did apply to Len, but to Flower? No one expected that sudden twist. Who would have thought that Flower would be the next rep, despite earning a perfect score?

After cleaning the board, Len and Flower went and sat down to their seats. Miu then stood in front of the podium, looking at each and every student in the room.

“Everyone,” Miu grabbed everyone’s attention. “In this one year that we have together, your last year of junior high school,” she continued on as everyone looked at her, wondering what she would say next.

Miu then smiled as she finished her sentence. “Let’s have a lot of fun.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> for those who did read the original draft, I don't remember if it was in FFnet or AO3, I did say Len would show up as a protag, but at the point when I took down the story for various personal reasons (Len being one of them), I felt bad for the BS I've done to Len, and when revising the drafts, I looked between Len and Leon, figuring out if I wanted to have Len take Leon's place or not, and then after much thought, I decided to go for it and just instead have Leon serve as Miku's boyfriend, which while it's a minor role, I honestly looked at this with "if Miku, a grown woman here, were to have a lover, who would it be." Probably the weirdest way for me to determine this, but here we are. (Probably my silly opinion, but I ended up liking the idea of Leon and Miku together, at least once, but that's just me... Also I am thinking of writing a little related story centered on Leon and Miku too, but let's finish this one first before I start any fics relating to this one) 
> 
> Fun fact: when I first wrote this all in 2015 before more male vocaloids were announce and before I educated myself on UTAU, CeVio, and much more, I used a randomizer to determine who can be the "male protag child" and that was Leon. For this rewrite, I decided even though Leon no longer has the same role (which is Len now), I'll at least bring him in when suitable whenever I can as that person who still had that life presented in the first draft, but now grown up.
> 
> Next, I thought I was done revising the plotline, but apparently not, I glanced back to see if I made any errors, and yes... If you go on AO3, it says 112 chapters, but may be less, so who knows (sometimes, I can just write and then go 'I'm done' despite my plotline saying there's more to put in a chapter, but if I reach 12 pages on my docs, I'm honestly done).
> 
> Lastly, this was originally chapter 11, but it's chapter 10, meaning I finished this entire section with one chapter shorter than the first draft. Feels great, I doubt it will happen again, but we will see. Done rambling and talking. Thank you for putting up with my BS.


	11. Disobeying is Unacceptable

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One, I'm also reposting the original, unedited version on my DeviantART, I don't know yet how often I'll be updating there, like I'll be updating here. Two, after some thinking, because I post on both FFnet and here (AO3), I just decided to resume posting this only on AO3 and just focus on my fanfic hobby on this site. This isn't to hate on other sites in anyway, I just happen to like AO3 the most, honestly. Could be that I am able to easily communicate with readers here better? 
> 
> Also I ended up with some bizarre fic ideas I want to try but might struggle with how to really go about it in other places, so I feel I can really test it out here. I'll most likely do that fic after I finish '15 Year Love Story.' With that out of the way, let's just go into this fic. 
> 
> Reminder that I wrote this in 2015 after watching a Jdrama and going "oh I love it so much i wanna write it out with vocaloids." The drama is called "Queen's Classroom" if you're interested in seeing it.

_“From now on, not only those who fail the tests, but those who disobey me will become the reps regardless of how well they did on the test.”_

That very day ended. As soon as the bell rang, Miu returned to her class and gave her final words of the day. After the end, Flower stood to do the last gorei.

“Stand,” she announced, and everyone stood. “Bow,” and everyone bowed with “Goodbye” coming out of everyone’s mouths. Before anyone else could move, Miu spoke.

“Miss Harukaze, you don’t have the right to use the lockers anymore. Hurry up and remove your belongings,” she commanded. “The rights to use the locker will pass on to Miss Kizuna.” Akari glanced up, struggling to not show her pleasure in having the chance to use the lockers. After Miu finished, Flower stood up quietly, her face remaining stone and lacking a proper reaction, and went towards the locker in the back of the room. “Once you are done, you and Kagamine can go clean the classroom.” As Flower continued to remove her belongings, the teacher continued. As a few looks of pity glanced back at Flower, Miu spoke again. “Anyone who feels bad for them and attempts to help will become representatives right away.”

Ending her announcement, Miu grabbed her books and was about to head out of the room. “Excuse me, Madame,” Akari called out. She stood up and went to Miu, who had paused and turned to her. “Can I ask a question?”

Miu stared at Akari. “Of course you can. Let’s go to the staff room.” She and Akari walked out of the room, and when they disappeared, the class began their chatter and complaints.

“Isn’t she something?”  
“Now that Harukaze is out of the way, Kizuna is all over Miu.”  
“She’s quite a nerd, isn’t she?”  
“Kizuna’s a teacher’s pet.”  
“The teacher is still scary, and it’s the second week of school now.”  
“Miura Mayu is a devil, isn’t she?”

As the conversations grew louder, Gumi stood up from desk and glanced towards the back of the room, noticing Flower closing the locker after she removed her notebooks. As she carried them towards her desk, Gumi stood up and began to walk closer to Flower. So many things she wanted to say. She had a desire to ask why she did it. Why Flower stood up for SeeU and saved her, Gumi wondered. Flower could have left SeeU to pee in her seat, and she didn’t.

“Gumi,” Kokone’s hand tugged on her sleeve. “Let’s go. We’re going to the library before your practice, remember?”

“Oh yeah,” Gumi nodded, and she knew she had to go. Kokone would not care for Gumi’s thoughts at this point, as the reason to go was urgent. Gumi followed Kokone out of the classroom, but not before giving one last glance at Flower. In that glance, Flower looked up, and very briefly, their eyes met before Gumi disappeared, no longer in the room.

xxx

“That Flower girl and her standing up to Miu with her bureaucracy and stuff was quite interesting,” One commented. She, Ann, Maki, and SeeU were walking out of the classroom together. A few students spotted them and began to follow them, wanting to spend time with the school’s favorite girls.

“She’s quite arrogant, isn’t she?” Maki stated boldly.

“That’s why she has no friends,” Ann commented. As they walked, more fans of them wanted to know what they were gossiping about.

“Ann, you said something about someone having no friends?”  
“Is it Miki again? We’ll teach her a lesson.”

Ann laughed. “Some girl in our class called Hanazono Flower was acting all arrogant to the teacher. It was quite an interesting scene today.” Everyone around the girls ooh’d and leaned in, wanting to learn more.

“Ah!” SeeU yelled, and she quickly turned to her friends. “I forgot something. You guys go on ahead without me.” With that, SeeU ran back to the room.”

“Haha, she’s left something of hers again,” One chuckled.  
“SeeU is so forgetful, hehe,” Maki commented.  
“That’s why SeeU is really cute,” Ann stated in a softer tone.

SeeU had heard none of that, especially since she ran a good enough distance to no longer hear them. Flower was the only person in SeeU’s mind now. Throughout the entire day after the test, the guilt blossomed in her stomach. If it weren’t for her, Flower would never have to be a rep. In truth, she really didn’t forget anything. She just wanted to go back to the classroom and face Flower with an apology.

When she reached the room, SeeU had noticed that all the desks were pushed together near the walls. Flower held a broom in her hand and was sweeping the dust and dirt together. SeeU tried to think of the words to say, but instead, she stood by the doorway, continuing to stare at the white haired girl.

“What’s up, SeeU?” Len cheerfully greeted the girl, snapping her out of her thoughts. “Did you want to walk home with me or something?” He kept a warm smile on his face. SeeU was clearly surprised with his words.

“I-I just forgot something,” she lied to him and continued walking. Rather than helping Flower, Len had been playing around with Miu’s wheeled chair. Spinning around in it, he used it as his transportation, following SeeU.

“You’re pretty lucky,” he lightly commented. “I heard you got a zero on the test and Flower saved you. Aren't you lucky?” He teased.

“Shut up, just stop ditching if you feel I’m lucky,” SeeU scolded him.

“Eh? It’s a protest against Miu,” Len informed SeeU as Flower put aside the broom. “Also, one less person in class being miserable,” he added as Flower grabbed the trash bins and began to walk out of the room.

“What are you saying?” SeeU softly asked as she spotted Flower leaving the room. “Ah, Harukaze!” She cried out, although she ended her words on a shy note.

Flower stopped and turned to face SeeU. “What is it?”

As she walked up to Flower, SeeU struggled to find the words. Getting closer, SeeU finally muttered out what she could say. “Um… s-… Sorry. It’s my fault that it ended up like this.”

“I don’t care,” Flower told her after seconds of silence. “It’s not your fault,” she added. Flower turned around and continued to walk out, carrying the two large bins in her arms.

“Um,” SeeU began and ran to Flower, attempting to grab one of the bins. “I’ll hel-”

Before she could grab it, Flower turned and brought the bin closer to her, to ensure that SeeU didn’t grab it. “Stop it,” she scolded SeeU with a serious voice. “Miu said she will make anyone a rep if they help.” With that, Flower turned and walked away once more. SeeU stood there, still feeling the guilt of having Flower do chores in her place.

Realizing nothing could be done, SeeU began to walk. Going downstairs, SeeU was glad the school was emptier as everyone either departed from school, went outside to enjoy the spring air, or went to their clubs. She was in no mood to have people come up to her just because she was a friend of Ann. When she had reached the end of the stairs, she continued to walk, only to look up and spot two figures walking towards her direction.

“Thanks to your explanation, I understood the problem perfectly. Thank you so much,” Akari gleefully told her teacher as they walked. Miu simply nodded. “Good bye,” Akari told her, bidding farewell. When the two reached SeeU, Akari turned to walk up the stairs while Miu simply walked past SeeU.

A sudden idea had quickly popped in SeeU’s head. Maybe she could apologize to Miu. Ask Miu to forgive Flower, she thought. Maybe that could help. SeeU just needed to get over her fear of Miu again. Spinning around, SeeU slowly followed Miu, once again having trouble speaking.

“Um…. Miss,” she softly whispered. Miu had heard her though, as she had paused her footing. SeeU paused for a moment, and then she found the small courage required to speak. “Please forgive Harukaze Flower.”

After a few seconds, Miu turned to face her, her eyes that lacked emotion staring straight into the girl. “Hm… making her do all the chores for my sake despite having the best grade,” SeeU shyly began. “Isn’t it a bit mean? If you want, you can make me do the chores again… no, you can make me a representative again.” She continued to stutter the words out of her mouth. “On today’s test, I got a zero because I had-”

“The only students who can talk to me outside of class are the top two students.”

SeeU paused, gaping at the words that flew out of her teacher’s mouth. With that said, Miu turned and continued walking. At that moment, Gumi had begun to walk down the stairs and noticed them as she reached the last step. Out of the corner in the hallway, Flower carried the two bins, now stacked, in her arms as she walked. When Miu caught the sight of her, she paused, and Flower stopped herself when she saw Miu. Silence engulfed the hallway as SeeU and Gumi stood and stared at their teacher and Flower. 

“You asked her?” Miu questioned the tall, stoic girl. While her face had been emotionless, Flower hinted a look of confusion to her teacher. “You told her to ask me to forgive you?” Miu questioned again. This time, Flower remained lacking emotion on her face, but she answered honestly.

“No.” She shook her head softly. “I did no such thing.”

“I’ll say this once,” Miu spoke immediately. “No matter how good the grades are, those who disobey me will be punished. Students opposing a teacher is not acceptable.”

After the words echoed through the dark, empty hallway, ringing in SeeU’s ears, Miu and Flower kept their eyes towards each other. In seconds, after staring for what has felt like a long time, Miu took her leave. She walked forward, passing the white haired girl. Flower stood at her spot, keeping her usual tough face. Gumi, while confused on all that happened, knew she couldn’t stay as she had to reach her practice. SeeU, meanwhile, kept her gaze on Flower and wouldn’t move for a long while. 

In the end, she still felt guilty.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was originally chapter 12. Apart from name changes and adding a little bit of Gumi's perspective, not much to really say. I'll post a link to my dA for the original chapters, and I do plan to talk more about it (mainly roasting my past writing) on dA.


	12. The Rush of the Morning

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I had finished revising this last week, and I didn't post it right away. I actually wanted to repost the original chapters on my deviantART page so they can be read there, and I was thinking I'd post the first 12 or 13 chapters cuz this is the 12th chapter I'm posting (a rewrite to ch13). As of now, I have only four chapters up. I guess it's because my schedule is bizarre and I'm struggling to figure out when to do what when I have some hobbies I want to do as well (and I got a new game, so that's kinda not helping). 
> 
> But yes, I am reposting the original chapters on my dA. I plan to have a folder solely for them. my dA should be in my profile and if not, will be after I post this.

The following days remained the same. The homeroom teacher remained as cold as ever. The remaining teachers were at a loss of what to do, but they went along with it, knowing if they talked back, Miu may as well bring up something they don’t want to hear. With faces of guilt, they asked Flower and Len to do any tasks for them, all because Miu insisted they ask for them and only them. The students kept quiet, and they wondered if there was any way to fight back with their homeroom teacher. 

Gumi, meanwhile, became more curious about everything. Why was her homeroom teacher this cold? Did she have a heart even? Gumi knew she saw her at the cemetery, leaving her to believe her teacher lost someone precious, thus becoming a rather cold and distant adult figure. And for Flower… She claimed to not want an ally, but she stood up for SeeU. Gumi found herself unable to forget this. Even more, Gumi recalled Flower refusing to attend a private school or college, despite being the smartest in the class. Exactly what kind of person was Flower? 

Despite all these thoughts circulating in her mind, Gumi continued her daily life. She went to play basketball after school. She went to cram school with Kokone every evening. She messaged Leon and Miku, the only adults who took care of her better than her own parents. Gumi often came home to a mess, and she was already too tired to clean after her parents. Things were not the same since that accident years ago. Gumi went to bed one night, and when she placed her glasses aside, she also pressed a button on her alarm, but she didn’t think twice of it. 

The following morning, Gumi kept her body nuzzled into her blankets. The warmth felt comforting to her. She wanted to stay in them for all eternity. The girl kept herself buried in her sheets, uncaring of what would possibly happen. Slowly, as the minutes ticked by, she felt vibration through her pillows. The wonderful feeling of it had continued for so long. Gumi found herself loving the sensation, feeling as though she was receiving a pleasant massage, one that was long overdue. 

Then it ended, and Gumi moaned in complaints. Why did the vibrating stop? She was enjoying it. Minutes passed, and slowly, the drowsiness was wearing off. Moving her head in a turtle’s pace, Gumi reached below her pillow to grab the source of the sweet feeling. Taking her phone out, Gumi realized she left it in vibrate mode, and she opened it to see her messages.

Seven missed calls, three text messages, and all of them were from Kokone. After marking off her missed calls, Gumi checked her messages, from the oldest to the most recent.

From: Kokone  
Hey, Gumi, wake up! We can’t be late to school!  
Sent at 8:22AM

From: Kokone  
Gumiiiiiiiiiii! Hurry up, or we will be late!  
Sent at 8:29AM

From: Kokone  
I take it you are having a nice, deep sleep. I’ll see you in school, hopefully not when Mu is already in the room.  
Sent at 8:35AM

8:35… AM…. Eyes shot opened, Gumi quickly turned her head to her clock.

It was 8:43AM. School starts at exactly 9 in the morning… it was a twenty minute walk from Gumi’s house to school…

Once the realization immediately dawned on the girl, Gumi was quick to jump out of her bed. Immediately stripping off her pajamas, the girl rushed to pull on her white sailor shirt, her blue skirt, and white, ankle length socks. When she dressed herself as fast as possible, Gumi grabbed her red ribbon and tied it on her shirt as quickly as she could. Once it was tied, although very sloppily, Gumi grabbed her phone in one hand and her bag filled with her school supplies on the other. To hell with checking if she had anything. Gumi knew Miu might kill her for showing up to class late. Right after putting on her shoes at the entrance, uncaring if they were even tied, Gumi bolted out of her home.

Running at the fastest pace she can go, Gumi took a glance at her phone. 8:51AM. If she kept running at this pace, she could possibly make it. Uncaring that she ran through streets when cars could have even hit her, she kept running. She wasn’t going to be late. She was not going to face Miu’s wrath. 

Seeing the river on the side of the road, Gumi knew she was close. She became more determined to make it. 

“Gumi!”

A familiar male voice had cried out to the girl. Before she even realized it, Len ran right beside her. “Len!?” Gumi yelled in shock. “You’re a rep! You are supposed to be in school thirty minutes earlier!”

“I know!” Len screamed back. “I just happened to oversleep by accident,” he responded.

“I don’t even know how I overslept,” Gumi commented and sighed deeply. She was so sure she had her alarm on… then she remembered she pressed a button on her clock last night. “Oh.”

The two continued to run as fast as their legs could take them. In another minute, before they realized it, they had reached the school entrance where Ms. Loid was standing.

“Good morning!” Gumi and Len shouted as they ran past her.

“Good morning,” Ms. Loid greeted back. “You two are late. Hurry to class,” she called out as she went to close the school gate. The two students had hoped that the vice-principal was lying, except the school bell had rung, echoing through the area, signalling that class was ready to begin.

‘Shit!’

Entering the building, Len and Gumi continued to run nonstop, refusing to be late. As they continued to run up the stairs, Len skipped a few steps. Gumi attempted to mimic him, only to trip and collide harshly with the steps. Struggling to stand as fast as she can, Gumi quickly looked down on her shin and discovered a mark of black and blue starting to form. Ignoring it, she stood and kept running.

In the hallway, Miki was walking at a slow pace. In actuality, she was in deep thought, and as a result, she did not hear the bell going off. However, she did hear the sounds of footsteps behind her. Before she could even react, Len had quickly ran by her.

“Hurry up!” He yelled at her while running. “You’ll be late.” That very moment, Miki had realized that she had zoned out and witnessing Len running quickly, she assumed the bell must have rung. Miki began to pick up her pace.

Len kept on running, never bothered to take a break. Reaching the end of the hallway, he knew he had to take a turn, and the classroom was there. Once he reached the corner, Len was about to turn and run, until he caught the sight of the back of his teacher. Miu was heading to the classroom. Realizing that Miu would see him, Len quickly paused, trying to register the best solution for this. Miki had continued to run, and was too late to stop as she crashed into Len’s back. This did not affect the boy so much, as Miki was much tinier compared to him.

Turning his eyesight away, Len looked to his left. Gumi was coming towards the two students, running as fast as she could. He even took notice of a bruise that was forming on the girl’s leg, realizing she was getting tired and would take a bit longer, as well as wondering if she tried to mimic him with bad results. Looking back at Miu, Len knew that at least Miki and Gumi should be in the classroom before Miu enters.

Leaving his spot at the corner of the hallway, Len ran at an incredibly fast pace, as if all the running he had to do had never affected him at all. The moment he went past his tall, strict teacher, the boy began to scream wildly. All Miki could do was stare at the scene in disbelief.

“Hey,” Miu called out. “Stop,” she commanded, walking past the door that led to her classroom. Len, who had ran to the stairs at the end of the hallway, reappeared. “Where are you going?” Miu questioned.

“Ah! I’m sorry!” Len began. “I must have forgotten where I was supposed to go,” he said while smiling cheekily. As he spoke, Len waved his right arm towards the room while his right leg swayed back and forth. Miki stared at Len’s movement, and suddenly, she realized what the boy was doing.

“Did I not tell you that as a class representative, you are to show up thirty minutes earlier and clean the room?” Miu began to scold the student in front of her. As she spoke, Miki softly jogged to the room, praying that Miu would not notice her. In seconds, once Miki safely and quietly entered the room without Miu ever turning, Gumi finally caught up and was ready to run to the room, only to quickly pause once her teacher came to her eye vision.

“I’m sorry,” Len apologized with lots of energy. “So many things had come to mind very recently, so I was unable to sleep peacefully.” While speaking, Len kept up with his strange arm and leg movements. When Gumi took notice of his movement, she realized that Len was distracting Miu for her. Very quickly, Gumi quietly ran to the classroom, hoping for Miu to never turn around.

As Len kept talking, Miu felt that something was up. It was very strange that Len would talk with so much energy while moving so stupidly right in front of her. Miu sensed that something was up. Very slowly, Miu began to turn her head, eventually facing the hallway behind her.

No one was there.

Sighing, Miu turned to her blond hair student. “Really, I’m sorry,” Len said once more. All Miu could do was stare at him with a serious face. Then she grabbed the collar of his shirt and dragged him into the classroom.

xxx 

Meanwhile, the remaining students had been sitting quietly in class. After the bell rang, Kokone glanced around, and she realized that both Gumi and Len were missing, and a third desk was empty as well. Kokone only sighed when she thought of Len, as it was clear he was supposed to be in school a long while before due to his job of cleaning up the messes. With Gumi, however… Kokone had waited for her, and she tried to enter her home, but the door was locked, which didn’t happen often. Kokone sat quietly, hoping Gumi’s face would appear at any moment before Miu arrived. Kokone doubted Gumi was sick or would ditch. The front door opened, and Kokone, sitting near the front, was able to see what was going on out there, in the hallway. For a moment, she caught sight of her teacher, and the hope of seeing Gumi faded until…

“Aaaaaaahhhhhh!!!!”

All of a sudden, a flash of dark blue with a hint of yellow stormed by the door. Students in the room glanced at each other in confusion, and they began to wonder what was happening outside their classroom. 

“What the hell…”  
“What kind of screaming was that?”  
“That was weird…”

“Hey.” 

Kokone, and probably a few others who bothered to pay attention, heard Miu’s voice. Kokone kept on watching the door. Miu’s body had disappeared almost immediately, and Kokone knew she was heading towards the one ran by her. Kokone kept on watching, and she could hear some sort of conversation going on. There was Miu’s serious voice, and then there was a bucket of energy from the other one. Very quickly, Kokone recognized it and figured it out.

‘Len, as a rep, you were supposed to be here earlier,’ was all Kokone could think as she facepalmed. When she looked up again, Miki had entered the classroom. This did not go unnoticed by Ann.

“Hey, Furukawa,” Ann mockingly called to her.  
“Hey, isn’t she late?” Maki commented.

Ignoring the comments, Miki headed straight to her seat. A few seconds after Miki had entered, the one person Kokone hoped to see ran in the room. The girls ceased their comments after seeing that Miki was not the only person who was late. Gumi headed straight to her desk, which was right next to Kokone’s, and quickly fell down to her seat. Deeply breathing, the girl struggled to catch her breath.

“Good morning to you too,” Kokone whispered. Then, she took the next few seconds to stare at the girl. Short, green hair was unkempt, red ribbon was tied on horribly, shirt and skirt were wrinkled, and Kokone could have sworn she saw a mark of black and blue on her shin when she entered.

Then Miu entered the room, dragging Len with her, and all conversation had ceased. The teacher stood to her podium and kept her student right next to her.

“Stand,” Flower announced, and everyone stood. “Bow,” and everyone bowed.

“Good morning,” everyone greeted.

“Sit,” Flower spoke the last command, and everyone sat down. Miu began class, starting with speaking directly to Len while looking at the entire class.

“Because of you,” Miu began. “Class is now two minutes late. Apologize to everyone,” she commanded.

Len faced the room and bowed deeply. “I’m sorry,” he loudly declared. After finishing his bow, Len went to head to his seat.

“Who said you could go to your seat?” Miu questioned, and Len turned to her. Suddenly, the stoic teacher, with an irritated face, looked at the floor around her. “This area is covered in dust,” she informed him. “Go clean it right away.” Len nodded, placing his bag down on his desk and leaving to go grab a rag. “What was the other representative doing?” Miu asked directly to Flower. “Class can not start like this.”

Flower stared at her teacher with a face of coldness. “I’m sorry,” she murmured loudly. Standing up, Flower went to follow Len. The two went outside the classroom, grabbed a rag, and went to the sink. Dipping it in the water that came from the faucet, the two ringed it out and returned to the room with wet rags. As the two went on to do their task, Miu began to speak.

“If the beginning of class is delayed thanks to late comers, I will keep you all here longer.” Much like the first day of school when Miu was informing them of how she ran the class, the students were quick to complain loudly.

“Does that mean lunch break will be shorter too?” Sora asked.

“It has to be done,” Miu answered her. “If we don’t do that, people who cause problems won’t learn a lesson.” Everyone was quiet as their teacher continued to speak. “Life is a pile of one second after another,” she began yet another speech to her students. “Wasting time is the same as wasting life. Don’t you think it is harmful to the class if such people are present in this room?” Miu paused and took a small look at her room. There were a few students who were not paying attention to her. Regardless, Miu continued and began to walk around the room as she spoke.

“Picture it,” she told the class. “In a company, no matter how good they are, only 30% of the people are doing their job properly.” As she was ending that sentence, she had walked by Kyo, who was engaged in a manga he had bought recently. Once she ended her words, Miu snatched the book out of his hands and continued walking, leaving the boy in shock. “50% of people do things that basically have no effect on the company, and then there are the 20% of people who drag the entire company down.” While she kept on talking, she headed towards Maki, who was busy fixing her box of keychains. When the girl had carefully placed a keychain inside, Miu grabbed the box immediately and continued walking, ignoring Maki’s cry to return it.

“The main problem is that the people who are serious will feel foolish while looking down at those who drag them down.” After witnessing Kyo and Maki losing their personal belongings, Iroha quickly tried to put away her kitty plushie, not wanting to lose it either. “And they will sink down to their level.” Iroha felt that she was near safe until Miu stood right next to her. The teacher pulled the girl’s arm away and went straight to her bag, grabbing the stuff animal out of it. Heading back to the front with a manga, box, and plushie in her hands, Miu continued talking.

“The company will quickly collapse.” Placing the items that belong to her students on her podium, she continued as if nothing has ever happened while staring at her class. “There is something like this going on in this class right now.” While listening, Flower and Len continued cleaning while everyone else stared at Miu.

“Wouldn’t it be better if the 20% of those people who drag everyone down were not here?”

Silence filled the room. Students in their chairs gave their attention to their teacher. Flower was still kneeled to the floor, cleaning it with her now dirty rag. Len was cleaning the board with erasers in his hand. No one dared to speak. Then, unexpectedly, a sound of a ringtone echoed in the room. Miu turned her gaze towards a certain curly blonde hair girl whose eyes were slowly widening.

“You seem to fit into that 20%.” Miu announced as she began to walk towards Ann. Everyone kept their eyes on her. The only people who dared acted against Ann were those who either despised her or were jealous. Teachers in the past tried to properly teach Ann, but they had given up. Then Miu came and made it clear that Ann was a student and only a student. Her reputation and career outside of the school meant nothing to Ann. The last time someone treated her like this, Ann complained and it was taken care of immediately. She complained this time, and ten days had passed with no sign of change. 

Ann realized her phone ringing was a bad time, and she did her best to shut it off before Miu stepped closer to her. 

“Um,” Ann began, and for the first time, she found herself stuttering to an adult. “I’ll be sure to turn off my phone next time, so please…” Miu was quick to dive into the girl’s arms and grab the phone away. Ann tried to reach for it, but Miu had already walked away with the phone in her hand. The phone rang once more, and Miu chose to answer it.

“If you know Ann is in school, why would you try to interrupt the class? Her education is more important.”

As Miu spoke to the caller in a strict tone, a few students were unable to hold back their snickering. They were finding pleasure in seeing the beloved idol being humiliated so openly as Ann’s face grew more red in embarrassment and anger. Miu ended the call and placed the phone with the other belongings. 

“That’s enough,” Miu announced, and the students ceased their laughter. “Now we will begin class. Open your textbooks to page 27.” As Miu went to grab her book, Ann simply stared at her, struggling to hide the angry tears that were threatening to spill.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comparison to 5 years ago, this is just padding as more description is told and nothing is removed. As I stated in the top notes, I'm sharing the original writings on my deviantART, one should not need an account (I hope), and thanks for tolerating me when I'm sometimes forgetting to post stuff.
> 
> (Also, I did write a journal reflecting on writing this and may do more if people are interested in seeing my deep thoughts).


	13. Motherly March

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, I'm a little behind in updating old, unedited chapters on my deviantart page. I should work on that. 
> 
> I'm thinking to change the title just to further emphasize that this plotline follows a show I really like. I'm going to be honest, I'll probably continue writing vocaloid fics that follow existing plotlines, just because I feel it's a nice way to practice my writing, and on the side, just write things freely or loosely based on something. 
> 
> I kinda want to write fics based on Disney movies lol Okay, enough rambling

“So mean!”

After their dance practice, Ann, Maki, One, and SeeU had ordered simple fast food meals to eat. To avoid public eye while not yet wanting to return home, the girls rented a private room in the karaoke building. There, the girls vented out their frustrations concerning school.

“I didn’t mean for my phone to suddenly ring like that!” Ann exclaimed. “It was an accident!”

“I can’t believe she took my box from me!” Maki complained after swallowing a french fry. “It was rare, and my mom bought it for me. She’s the worst.”

“Isn’t it weird that she is punishing those who disobey her and giving privileges to people with good grades?” One questioned as she dunked her nugget in honey mustard sauce.

“It’s definitely weird,” Maki answered before putting another fry in her mouth.

“This is driving me nuts,” Ann commented, “I don’t know what else to do! My agent promised to get this taken care of and it’s been a week! It normally doesn’t take this song,” she sighed in frustration. At that moment, an idea struck One as she reached out to Ann’s arm.

“Let’s tell our mothers,” she began to explain. “My mother is important in the board of education committee. If we get our mothers to complain, my mother can start a protest and march down to school tomorrow.”

“That’s a fantastic idea!” Maki cheered, but Ann’s face remained the same.

“But my agent said to not go to my mom yet.”

“But she also told you she’d take care of it,” One repeated Ann’s statement. “And you complained that it’s taking too long. Look at it this way. It’s more meaningful if our mothers say something than if your agent did.”

“Huh? Explain,” Ann said. 

“Because your agent is only a woman who is taking care of your job,” One explained. “But your mother birthed you and will do anything to make you happy. School isn’t making you happy, so if you talk to your mom and explain, she’ll join mine and they’ll march down to complain.”

“I see,” Ann smiled. “Let’s do this!”

“We should have done that sooner,” Maki commented. “I’m tired of that woman thinking she’s better than all of us!” Hearing the entire conversation, SeeU finally placed down her cup and spoke up quietly.  
“Hey, please… I don’t want to tell mom about me doing chores.”

“What are you saying, SeeU?” Ann looked at her in confusion. “You’re the one who has it the worst,” Ann told her.

“That’s true, but…” SeeU trailed off, but One interrupted her.

“Don’t you feel responsible for what happened to Flower? There is nothing left but to tell our parents.”

“I can’t depend on my mom, though,” SeeU tried to explain, but once again, Ann interrupts her.

“Don’t worry. It will be good if we get One’s mother to complain though. She is the PTA official after all.”

“If we get all the parents to complain,” One began. “There is no way Miu can oppose us.” Maki and Ann quickly agreed with her while SeeU quietly ate her food.

xxx 

“I’m home!” SeeU called out as she entered her home. After removing her footwear, SeeU was heading straight to her room on the second floor when she heard her mother speaking to someone else.

“Eh? SeeU was having such a bad time?” Hearing her name, SeeU stepped back down to the first floor and slowly walked to the family room where her mother was. Slowly entering, she found her mother, her back facing her, holding a phone close to her face.

“She did not say a single word to me,” Kasumi continued talking on the phone. “She said that the homeroom teacher was good.” Right after saying that, Kasumi turned and met her daughter. SeeU quickly waved and turned to walk away, but was immediately stopped. “Hold it, SeeU!” The teen was forced to stop as her mother resumed her conversation.

“I’ll see you tomorrow. I’m so sorry for this trouble. Farewell.”

After hanging up on the phone, Kasumi stood and went straight to her daughter. “I heard from One’s mother that you were made to do all the chores.”

With a smile, SeeU told her mom, “I don’t have to do them anymore.”

“That’s not the problem,” Kasumi commented back. “Why did you keep quiet about something like this?”

“I didn’t want you to worry about me,” SeeU answered and tried to smile. It was partly true. Seeing the amount of stress her mother was dealing with for the past several months, SeeU wasn’t willing to give her added stress.

“Eh, Dahee! Don’t you think I’m embarrassed? A mother who has no idea what her child is going through at school…” SeeU kept her head down, having no choice but to hear her mother freak out and complain. 

xxx 

The following morning, women marched in the school with one similar goal in mind. They entered the school to meet the teacher of their children in the ninth grade. Passing the gate, they marched forward. Some of the students were among the crowd, walking beside their mothers.

As Len was tending the flowers right outside the school, he heard the continuous sounds of heels clicking. Looking up, he was surprised to see a handful of adults entering the school. In the hallways, Flower was sweeping when the mob pressed on. Staring at them, the girl was confused, wondering why they were here.

When they reached the teacher’s lounge, the students departed, heading straight to their classroom. Upon entry, a few cried with glee.

“She’ll freak when she sees all those mothers!”  
“Everything will be okay!”  
“Miu will have to start being nicer to us after she sees our mothers!”

Many students in the room continued to cheer, believing that because their mothers had come, their homeroom teacher will have no choice but to stop with her silly rules. During the teens’ cheers of happiness, SeeU remained in her seat in silence, as well as a few others, particularly the ones who approved of their homeroom teacher’s rules, stared at the happy kids in disbelief. SeeU couldn’t bring herself to be happy like her friends. Throughout the time, she continued to fight against the negative feelings she was having. She knew that, somehow, Miura Mayuko would find a way to resolve this problem, and however she did it, the students may not like it at all.

xxx 

“What do the principal and vice-principal think about this?”  
“Telling the kids that only 6% of them can be happy?”  
“Calling my child ordinary?”  
“My child has been so down this past week.”  
“Isn’t this discrimination and abuse?”  
“Answer us!”

The mothers continued to harass Akiko with their questions, in which she struggled to answer. Around the same time, Luka entered the room just to witness the scene occurring on the other side. Holding her carrier up to cover her face, Luka quickly and quietly strolled to her desk. Reaching it, she immediately hid behind it. Kiyoteru was already there when she had arrived.

“What is going on?” Luka asked.  
“It’s better to not get involved,” Kiyoteru simply told her.  
“Those are the guardians of the third class in grade nine, right?”  
“After hearing what those girls in the class told me, and after Miura called me out for trying to intervene, I had talked to the principal about it,” he informed her. “I told him he should say something to her before something like this happened.”

Luka nodded, and then she remembered she was to give something to Kiyoteru. Reaching into her bag, she spoke, “Now is not a good time, but.” After finding the papers, she took them and gave them to Kiyoteru. “Here are the plans for tomorrow’s assembly, the crime prevention training.”

“Oh, the instructions for using the restraining rod,” Kiyoteru commented. He looked behind him, staring at the rod that lay on the wall. “Too bad we can’t use it on them,” he told Luka, pointing his head towards the crowd of women. The two laughed quietly and then stared back at the scene that was taking place on the other side of the room.

“So this is why Meiko wished me good luck when I said I was coming here,” Luka sighed.

“About our plan…” Akiko trailed off. Although she was the vice-principal, she was one who did major work as Ueki was needing constant rest, yet her training didn’t prepare her to handle this type of situation. The woman continued to harass her, and knowing it was concerning Miura only made Akiko resent her even more. When she learned Ueki had hired her in replacement of Cocorobo, Akiko spoke up her concerns, but they all were ignored. Following the assembly from the first day of school and the excessive calls from Cul, who served as Ann’s agent, Akiko’s resentment for the teacher continued to grow.

“Hey,” One’s mother, Chika, stood towards her. When the woman was closer to her, Chika politely spoke to her. “What kind of measures will you take?” She asked with a smile.

Akiko tried to answer as professionally as she could. “Of course, we like to make sure that everyone here is satisfied,” she began as she stared at every mother in front of her. Each and every one of them held a serious face, wanting a proper answer. “So we’ll certainly…” Akiko did not know what to say. She knew she was going to make a fool of herself. While looking at all of the women, Akiko caught the sight of Yamada peeking his head into the room. Suddenly, an idea clicked in Akiko’s brain.

Very quickly, Akiko side stepped out of the way, heading directly to where Yamada was. Behind Yamada were Meiko and Komachi. “Mr. Yamada is in charge of the third year classes. How about we hear from him?” Once Akiko came to his sight, Yamada silently swore at the lady as he placed himself in the room, preparing to take in the heat from the women.

“Mr. Yamada knows Ms. Miura very well,” Akiko claimed. Around the time she finished speaking, Len poked his head in the room. When he was returning while carrying a recycling bin, he heard commotion going on in the teacher’s lounge and decided to check in silently.

“What kind of teacher is Ms. Miura?” One mother asked.  
“I, myself, don’t really know,” Yamada tried to answer.  
“It seems that she has been violating the students’ rights with these mean things these past two weeks,” another mother blurted out.  
“I don’t think it’s like that at all,” Yamada tried to explain.  
“You’re the educational advisor, yet you are pretty evasive,” Chika accused Yamada.

Luka and Kiyoteru slid out of hiding and glanced at Yamada in pity. Near the doorway, Meiko and Komachi stared and sighed, though Komachi couldn’t keep herself from complaining.

“That woman’s a mess,” she said as she thought of Mayuko.

xxx 

“Sorry, everyone. I think Ms. Miura will be here very soon,” Len mimicked what he had heard to his classmates. Standing on several desks, he entertained the other students while acting out what he heard earlier. Most of the students couldn’t refrain from laughing.

“It hurts so much to laugh,” Yu commented.

“‘Everyone, please calm down!’ Yamada kept telling the mothers, and One’s mother went all, ‘and you call yourselves teachers! We are not leaving until we are satisfied!’”

Out in the hallway, Gumi tiredly walked into class. Once again, she had woken up late and had rushed to come to school. Having stayed up late to do her homework, she had forgotten to fix her alarm, and thus, she rushed to school again. Although successful in arriving before the bell rang, Gumi remained tired as she entered her classroom. Then the sight of her gleeful classmates and Len acting up on top of a few desks woke her up.

“‘Otherwise, we will take this matter to the school board!’” Len continued his skit to his classmates.

As everyone laughed, Gumi gave a look of confusion. “What is going on?” She asked quietly as she heard one comment, “One’s mom has them good now!” Flower, standing near her with a broom in her head, turned to her and gave her an answer.

“The mothers are here.”  
“Mothers?”  
“Those popular girls, especially One, complained to their mothers about Ms. Miura, and they called the other mothers.”

“Well, I might have made it sound worse than it really was,” One whispered, yet Gumi heard her. “Ah well,” she shrugged.  
“This should get her good now,” Ann commented.

“I had no idea this was happening,” Gumi quietly told herself, although Flower had heard her.

“Neither did I.”

“We’re talking about Miu though,” SeeU told Ann and their friends. She really was doubtful of the whole situation. “She might come up with something to beat them,” she informed her friends, although everyone had heard her.

‘She’s right,’ Gumi thought before yawning.

“No way,” One told SeeU. “Lately, if parents complain, teachers can’t oppose them.”

“I wonder,” Len spoke up.

“What do you mean?” Maki asked.

“I don’t think you can really rely on your parents,” Len told them. “Everyone might seem really determined, but inside, they really aren’t.”

“It’s nothing like that,” One responded.

“What are you saying?” Maki asked while punching Len’s leg harshly. Right after the impact, Len suddenly began to lose his balance on the desks. As he began to wobble, losing his balance further, the students tried to reach to him in an attempt to save him. Unfortunately, Len struggled enough to slip off the desk, falling right on SeeU. Very quickly, the girl tried to catch the taller boy. Once he made impact on her, SeeU was shoved to a desk. As she winced in pain, Len quickly got off of her and then pulled her up.

“Sorry. Are you okay?” He asked kindly. Almost immediately, Ann and One reacted and pulled him off of their friend.

“Seeu? SeeU!?” Ann cried.

“You! Be careful!” Maki yelled at him, despite the fact that she was partially at fault.

xxx 

“Ms. Miura has her own way of handling things,” Luka tried to aid Yamada and explained to the enraged mothers.

“What exactly is her way?” Chika strictly asked Luka. In the back of the crowd, Kasumi had jumped and tiptoed, trying to hear them and ask questions. As Chika spoke, Kasumi heard the sound of soft heels clicking behind her, gradually coming closer. Slowly turning, Kasumi saw her.

Slowly, Miu entered the teachers’ lounge, taking in the sight of the guardians in the room. Kasumi had gaped at the woman. The sight of a dark, firm woman caught her by surprise. Slowly, the women turned, one by one, and began to notice her.

As if there was nothing going on, Miu simply sat at her chair and placed her bag on her desk. While she silently took out her laptop, Yamada tried to talk to her.

“Ms. Miura?” Yamada called her. She stayed silent. “Hey, Ms. Miura,” Yamada tried to get her attention again. “These are the guardians of the students in your class,” he spoke as if Miu was paying attention to her.

“So you’re Ms. Miura?” Chika asked, coming up to her. “What do you think you are doing, treating the children like this?”

“Ann told me you went and took her phone away,” Lola, the mother of Ann, came up to her. “My daughter is an idol. She needs to stay in contact with her agent,” she tried to explain.

“Don’t you think not letting them eat or go to the bathroom is corporal punishment?” A mother asked.

“My child is very delicate,” another complained.

Throughout all the complaining, Miu resumed with what she had been doing everyday, uncaring of the women right next to her.

“Hey,” Chika tried to get Miu’s attention. “Are you even listening?” Miu ignored them and went on as if they were nonexistent.

“Kasumi!” Lola cried out, pulling the woman closer. “You say something too! Ann told me your daughter has it the worst.”

“Yeah,” Kasumi answered a little shyly. Turning to Miu, she began to speak. “Why did you make my daughter do all the chores?” Right after she finished speaking, Miu stood up. Finally acknowledging the guardians, Miu spoke to them, all of them.

“If possible, I would like to speak to each and every one of you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Of course, One's mother is Chika, who was in the first version as a student. Since I had replaced Chika with One, I ended up deciding to have Chika serve as the mother to One and Ia. I also edited the confrontation, so Ueki is hiding. MIA. Not wanting to deal with that. 
> 
> Now I should be responsible and post more unedited chapters on my dA, so please check out my deviantart page.


	14. I Understand them better

Chika was the first mother to speak to Miu. The remaining mothers sat together. Some were quiet. Some gossipped their concerns over Miu’s harsh ways of speaking. They even spoke about the other teachers, who had gone to teach their first classes, saying they were bystanders. The other teachers were enablers. They knew of Miu’s harsh rules and did nothing about it. 

Chika came out at last, and seeing her smiling so brightly, the mothers grew curious.

“She is so different from what I expected,” Chika began to inform the woman. They all listened intently. “She is a really good teacher. Also, she praised me. She said my educational policy is excellent!” Everyone became puzzled at this point. Their children had told them that Miu was awful with the chores and such, and now, to hear that Miu was great, and from the President of the Board of Education no less.

“Well, see you all later, I’ll wait outside, but I’m going to go see my daughter first,” Chika told them before she walked away. Once she was out of sight, another mother entered the room, and the rest were patient to wait. After a few minutes, she came out, smiling and praising Miu, and when she was gone, the next one came.

xxx 

The homeroom class continued with their conversations, students stating their expectations for what would come after that morning. The rules would be dropped. The discrimination would end. The cold words won’t exist anymore. The students smiled eagerly, fully believing their mothers would talk sense into Miu.

“One,” Chika called out. She stood by the door as One ran towards her. Most of the class looked at the two, all eager to hear One’s mother say Miu would end her way of teaching.

“Mom,” One replied. “How was it?”

“I talked to her,” Chika began. “I believe there was a misunderstanding.” Upon hearing this, the smiles began to falter as everyone took in what Chika said. Misunderstanding? “She’s a wonderful person,” Chika further explained as she reached out and landed her hand on One’s shoulder. “So from now on, listen to Miu and do what she says. Listen to the other teachers as well. They’re doing a good job with keeping up on Miura’s requests. She’s a good teacher,” Chika said as she walked off. One stood there, taking in her mother’s words as she realized that even her mother fell for that woman.

“Did this…” a student began to ask.  
“It can’t be!”  
“This was supposed to work!”

The students began to talk amongst themselves as they all were in disbelief. 

“Maybe my mother will reason?”  
“No way my mother would fall for her!”  
“We can watch from the rooftop!”

From that response, many students ran. They fled the room as they reached to the roof, intending to see their mothers walk off and make their judgement there. Only six were left in the room, the students whose mothers were absent from this mess. 

“Do they really think bringing their mothers will resolve everything?” Len asked after the rest of the class rushed out of the room.

“I wonder,” Flower murmured. “People can appear to be very determined, but inside, they are cowards.”

“And One’s mother said she believed in her,” Len sighed. “If the leader falls, the rest of the troops will fall too.”

“They’re being petty,” Kokone spoke up. “They didn’t like their items taken away, so they cried, thinking their mothers will save them.” Kokone stood from her desk and went towards Len as she kept talking. “There’s nothing wrong with Miu’s teaching and rules. The two students with the worst grades need to step up with their grades if they don’t want to keep working, although…” Kokone stood next him and glared slightly. “You’re a bit too nice for your own good, willingly skipping the test so you can fail.”

“Hey,” Len stared at Kokone in disbelief. “One less person to complain!” He tried to explain.

“If it was me, I’d let them suffer and deal with their own problems,” Kokone replied back. She looked at Gumi afterwards, seeing her sleeping at her desk. “Did she forget to fix her alarm again?” She walked towards Gumi, seeing her head leaning on the palm of her hand, and her arm served as support to keep her head up. With a sigh, Kokone slapped the arm out, allowing Gumi’s head to fall directly to her desk. Gumi woke up, and she first noticed Kokone in front of her, and she put two and two together. 

“Kokone, why?” Gumi complained. “I was having a sweet dream.”

“Stop coming to school late,” Kokone scolded her. 

“This is only the second time!” Gumi tried to explain.

“And it is the last day you are coming here late, too,” Kokone finished. “What did you do to your alarm clock anyway?” She asked harshly.

“I don’t know,” Gumi answered without a thought

“What do you mean you don’t know!?”

“I might have pressed the wrong button,” Gumi said with a small, cheeky smile. “I forgot to fix it last night.”

“I don’t even know what to do with you,” she growled under her breath, and Gumi heard that.

“Kokone, you love me.”

“Thanks for reminding me.”

“Wait, why is the room empty?” Gumi finally noticed most of her classmates were gone.

“They went to the roof,” Kokone told her. “After One’s mother came down and told her in front of us that everything is fine, everyone else fled to the roof to see their mothers leave. They weren’t happy that One’s mother didn’t react the way they hoped she would.”

“Oh,” Gumi stood up and looked around. “But Flower, Oliver, and Miki, they’re all here.” Gumi took notice of Flower, who read her book in the back of the room, seemingly uncaring of what was happening around her. Gumi was about ready to go up to Flower and try to begin a conversation, but she took notice of Len beginning a conversation with Oliver.

“You don’t have a mother either, right?” Len asked and Gumi overheard. 

“Yeah, I don’t have one. She died when I was younger,” Oliver explained.

“And your last name is unusual. You have an English and Japanese name?”

“Yeah, I was adopted by my stepdad,” Oliver told him.

Gumi began to wonder briefly, wondering if it’d be better to live without parents once again, until she turned to look at Kokone.

“Your mother didn’t come today, right?”

“No,” Kokone answered. “She got a call, and she asked me about Miu. I told her our classmates were being unreasonable and explained it. She left it alone.”

“Huh, I didn’t get any call, but then again,” Gumi was about to speak, but then she listened to Len and Oliver converse again.

“My parents don’t need to worry about my school work,” Len said. “I mean, they’re not really present, so it wouldn’t matter.”

“I received the call, but I erased it,” Oliver admitted. “I wasn’t going to let my nanny find out.”

“Yo, Gumi!” Kokone snapped Gumi back to her attention. “Stop eavesdropping on others!”

“Fine,” Gumi sighed and she stood up, but then she noticed Miki. “Oh, Miki!” She ran towards her and began to speak, surprising the smaller girl. “Your mother didn’t come too?”

“Well, I didn’t get any call,” Miki answered shyly. 

“I guess it makes sense,” Gumi spoke. “Didn’t those girls plan this anyways? Well. if they bother you, I’ll beat them for you, okay?”

“Gumi, come to the bathroom with me,” Kokone called out.

“Okay!” Gumi cheered, and she rubbed Miki’s head and departed with the brunette, leaving Miki to stare at her disbelief.

When Kokone and Gumi left the room, the former stared at the latter. “You’re really nice, aren’t you?” Kokone sighed. “Although, Miki didn’t deserve the pain Ann gives her. Also,” Kokone looked at her. “You were going to mention your parents. Are they still fighting?” 

“When they see each other, they scream,” Gumi answered.

“At least you’re okay,” Kokone said. “They’re just leaving you be, right.”

“Yeah,” Gumi said, although she kept quiet afterwards, not wanting to say more.

xxx 

When the meetings had begun, Akiko sat quietly in her office, her smile growing big as she imagined how it would all go down. Miu would have to listen and stop with her ridiculousness. After a good amount of time passed, Akiko stood and left her office. She went towards that hallway where the many ladies were sitting patiently, and Akiko discovered only two women left. 

A woman walked out of the room where the meetings took place, and Akiko noticed the biggest smile on her face. Akiko realized that Miu was really handling it very well as the woman spoke to another mother, speaking of how fantastic the teacher was. As the woman who left walked past Akiko in a state of happiness, the woman she spoke to entered the room. 

She was Lola, a single mother who birthed Ann and did everything she could to make her daughter happy. With Ann growing older, Lola trusted Ann on anything she said and left their agent to take in Ann’s career and eventually her school life. Lola didn’t react well with Ann’s phone being taken away, as well as Ann further telling her that Miu oten called her lazy and undeserving of special attention. 

Lola sat down, sitting across from Miu, and she first noticed the woman’s cold face. Lola wasn’t sure if this was the face of a teacher or the face of a convict, or perhaps Miu wasn’t able to show emotion. Lola did sense that Miu was quite cute as well, and with her face pale and free of wrinkles, Lola wasn’t sure if Miu was even in her thirties. 

“So, what is this about?” Miu asked. “You came here to complain about me, right?”

Lola tried to keep a professional image, feeling she needed to prove she could handle being the mother of an idol. 

“Well, it seems that you took away my daughter’s phone,” Lola told her.

“It went off during class,” Miu enlightened the mother. “Disruption is not allowed in the classroom.”

“But,” Lola began. “My daughter is an idol, so-”

“Is your daughter’s career more important than her education?”

“Eh?” Lola was taken back by the sudden question.

“Is your daughter’s career more important than her education?” Miu repeated herself. “Ann had given me the impression that by being famous, everyone will spoil her. She had expected me to give her special treatment like her previous teachers had.”

“What do you mean?” Lola asked. She was unaware of her daughter being given special treatment.

“Did you know that your daughter, with her agent’s consent, had bribed her previous homeroom teacher with gifts and money just to ensure that everything would go her way?” Miu sternly asked Lola while pulling out documents. The woman shook her head in disbelief. Miu passed the paperwork to Lola as she continued to speak. “There were complaints from teachers who took their jobs seriously that Ann needed to be scolded, but the homeroom teacher dismissed all complaints because she was living a lavish life,” she said, coldly speaking about Komachi. “A few other teachers tried to tell me how good it was for me to have Ann so I can have extra pay, so I told them to reevaluate themselves. My job is to teach.”

“But, Ann told me she was donating money to the school so it can get more supplies,” Lola said as she began to read the documents. Her eyes widened as she discovered the comments written concerning her daughter, comments like “very disruptive” and “rude attitude.”

“That’s right,” Miu told her. “Ann had given money to this school, just to ensure that she would not have to repeat a year ”

“Eh?” Lola couldn’t believe it, and as she kept reading, she discovered the grades Ann actually received, seeing that although Komachi gave her perfect marks, the rest of the teachers gave very unfavorable grades.

“It seems you have no idea what your daughter was doing, yet you are concerned over her phone being taken away just for her job.” Miu called Lola out sternly.

“I’m sorry,” Lola apologized and bowed. “I had no idea. I really didn’t. I thought Ann was following the rules properly. I had not realized she used her job to take advantage of teachers here. Even her agent told me things were fine and I should not worry about it!”

“Can I ask you to do me a favor?” Miu asked, this time with a slightly kinder tone. Lola nodded. “Please keep Ann’s education over her job. I understand that Ann loves her job, and I’m sure you do too, but you see now Ann isn’t doing too well in school as she made it blatantly clear she prefers her job. I recall the reason she chose to go to public school was due to her inability to answer several questions properly in an entertainment show.”

“Oh, yes!” Lola recalled. “She was very embarrassed, so I thought homeschooling wasn’t working out, so she enrolled here.”

“But her grades aren’t any better as you see,” Miu continued. “I have given two tests so far, and she has failed both of them. She earned a 17% last week and a 15% this week. Her agent has been harassing me too, demanding I dropped those grades the same way her previous homeroom teacher did. I told her I would only talk to Ann’s mother about the subject, but she wouldn’t listen.”

“I’m sorry,” Lola apologized. “I thought I could trust her. She said she had everything under control, so I left it all up to her. I didn’t realize she was enabling this and keeping it secret. This time, I’ll take matters into my own hands and force Ann to study, even if I need to cancel all of her appointments.”

“It’s okay,” Miu comforted Lola. “It must be tough to be a single mother, after all, and I heard that you fled from your husband from Sweden too.”

“Oh, it really is tough,” Lola began. “And I was in an arranged marriage with a drunkard. I did not want Ann to grow up with an abusive father, so I fled to Japan and raised her here these past fourteen, almost fifteen years. It was only a miracle that a model agent had found Ann playing around ten years ago. If it weren’t for her, we would still be suffering most likely. Ann would have never gone to that private school when she was a child. Ann would also have never had such good friends.” Lola then paused and realized she had talked too much. “I’m sorry!”

“It’s okay,” Miu told her. “It really was tough, after all, but you are still trying your very best, right?”

“Right,” Lola nodded. She stood up and bowed. “It really was nice talking to you, Ms. Miura.” Miu bowed slightly and handed the woman a familiar phone to her. Taking it, she bowed again. Lola waved farewell to the teacher and departed from the room.

“I believe there is only one more mother left,” Miu told herself. In a few seconds, the door slide opened, and a woman with messy brown hair entered. Taking her seat, the woman stared at Miu.

“You’re Dahee’s mother, Mrs. Kim, right?” Miu asked politely.

“Ah, her nickname is SeeU, but yes, I am her mother,” Kasumi nodded. When she named her daughter, she had thought Dahee was a cute name, but after a fun game of peek-a-boo when the girl was only three, Kasumi began to affectionately call her SeeU, and the name had stuck by and still had yet to leave. Even all her friends and relatives called the young girl SeeU, and she was never bothered at all by it.

“You’re here to complain about me, right?” Miu asked emotionlessly.

“Yeah,” Kasumi answered. “I came here because it seemed that my daughter was made to do all the chores.”

“You didn’t hear from your daughter about her tests?” Miu asked.

“Eh? No,” Kasumi answered.

“Dahee, or SeeU, got a 0 two weeks in a row.”

“Eh!? She didn’t say anything to me.”

“Children and teenagers hide bad things from their parents,” Miu informed her.

“Even if that is the case,” Kasumi began. “Assigning all of these chores…”

“If kids are not punished, they won’t reflect on the things they did, and they won’t grow,” Miu told her. Kasumi nodded, understanding what she was saying. “If you look at it, giving out appropriate punishments to children is for their benefits.”

“You’re right,” Kasumi commented. Miu leaned in a little closer to her.

“Sorry to ask,” she began. “But how many years have you been married?”

“Hmm,” Kasumi pondered for a second, then answered, “18 years.”

“It must be tough,” Miu said. “The husband doesn’t understand the mother’s hardships.”

“Exactly!” Kasumi agreed. “He used to be pretty nice, but now, he just treats me as a housewife. Every time he sees me, he complains. He doesn’t listen when I talk about the kids. When he talks, he doesn’t look at me,” Kasumi vented to the woman in front of her, entirely forgetting why she had come to school in the first place. “Recently, my older daughter, SeeU’s sister Uni, has been treating me the same way. Isn’t that cruel?” Right afterwards, Kasumi quickly realized that she had gone off. “I’m sorry,” she began to apologize. “I didn’t mean to grumble.”

Miu simply shook her head. “Why doesn’t anyone understand? Being a mother is the hardest.”

“You’re right,” Kasumi nodded and agreed.

“Dahee hasn’t realized that you are so worried about her, right?”

“I don’t know what to do. She has always been so lost in her world.”

“But, if she tries, she can accomplish much more,” Miu informs Kasumi. “If she is willing, she can definitely get into a private high school.”

“Miss,” Kasumi has been deeply touched by the words coming out of Miu. “Thank you so much,” she said and bowed. “This is the first time I have heard such things from a teacher.”

“As an education professor, I will do everything I can,” Miu professionally informed the woman. “Let’s both work hard for Dahee’s sake.”

“Yes!” Kasumi agreed, standing up and bowing. “Thank you for everything. Please keep taking care of my daughter.”

xxx 

“Sorry for keeping you waiting!” Kasumi yelled to the other mothers who were standing by the school gate entrance. Everyone was smiling and happily gossiping to one another. Once Kasumi joined them, they all continued chatting, and together, they walked out of the school grounds.

Meanwhile, on the roof of the school, students were watching their mothers leave so happily. They were all puzzled and confused.

“No way!” Ann commented.  
“What is going on?” Sora asked.  
“Maybe they talked sense to Miu,” Roro suggested.  
“Like I will believe that,” Ken remarked. “They look way too happy.”  
“Please don’t tell me SeeU was right,” Iroha complained, and at that moment, SeeU turned and noticed the adult who stood quietly.  
“Hi, Ms. Miura,” SeeU shyly and quietly whispered, and yet it was loud enough for all the students to hear. All of them turned to their right, and Miu had just entered the rooftop.

“It seems there are still some people who can’t picture it,” Miu spoke loud enough for all of them to hear. “Why did your parents come to my side so easily?” She asked as she walked closer to her students who were not in her classroom. “That’s because I understand your parents much better than you do,” she answered the question, regardless of whether anyone was going to answer or not. “Your parents just want your grades to rise and for you to not cause any trouble. If they see that the homeroom teacher is concerned about the children, they will be satisfied.”

Turning around, Miu continued to speak. “Basically, people just care about themselves.” Pausing for a second, Miu went on again. “Well, it’s the same all over this country, and perhaps other places as well.” Ending her speech, Miu turned again and glanced at all of her students who were present. There were faces that showed no emotion, and there were glares heading towards her.

“If you understand, you will not do unnecessary things, and you will fulfill your parents’ expectations.” After speaking once more, Miu walked away, all of the students staring at her, even after Miu had left the roof. With no choice left, all of them slowly fled from the roof, retreating back to the classroom. They all realized that no matter what they do, they were trapped in Miu’s rules.


	15. The Morning Rainshowers

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's not that I forgot about this fic. It's just that I forget to update it. Welp, three new chapters in one day, and I'm thinking I'll just update it once a week from now on, meaning two chapters per week (or so I am aiming for). 
> 
> Also, I'm posting all the original chapters from when I first wrote this in 2015 on my deviantart. Feel free to check it out there, and my dA info should be on my profile.

SeeU turned her music volume up higher to tune out the unwanted voices. Her hands continued to write down the answers she thought were correct on her paper. When the day at school ended, SeeU did all she could to avoid her mother, knowing she was told about the failing grades. 

“Zeros? How are you failing!?!?” Her mother had messaged her, and SeeU waited until her father came home to return as well, knowing very well they’d be bickering.

“Hey, See-see,” Uni said as she entered the room. SeeU took off her headphones as her sister entered. “What happened at school today? Mom got all riled up.”

“The teacher told them things they want to hear,” SeeU answered. “I knew that somehow it would happen. It seemed like Miss Miura could do so, but everyone thought differently.” SeeU sighed. “Now my friends aren’t happy.”

“It seems like they aren’t,” Uni said. “Did you look online? There was a public announcement about Ann.”

“What.”

SeeU went back to her laptop, and she opened a new tab, entering the site with the latest news about the models and idols in the company Ann was signed to.

“Hello! It has been decided that young model Ann Jody will be taking an indefinite hiatus to focus on her education. Sincerely sorry for any future inconveniences. This means any scheduled plans for Ann to appear in shows and public appearances have been canceled. Thank you for understanding!”

“Oh no,” SeeU sighed as she looked at that. “What did Ms. Miura say to Ann’s mother?” She wondered.

xxx

“I can’t believe this!” Lola’s voice echoed in the large house where she lived with her child. “How could you lie to me like this!? Telling me you were doing well in school when you were failing!!”

“But-” Ann, who sat on the chair uncomfortably, tried to explain, but her mother couldn’t be tamed.

“Do you know how embarrassing this is!? To find out you were lying and buying your way through school!? And Cul!! I trusted her, and she did this behind my back!”

“Mom, please-”

“I’m so glad Chika called me and told me to come see her myself! Now I know the truth! You were lying to me!”

The bell rang at that moment, and Lola stood quietly, her face reddened from anger as she went towards the door intercom.

“Yes?”

“Ma’am, please,” Ann heard Cul’s voice. “This is a misunderstanding. We need to talk properly.”

“Is it really?” Lola asked. “Because that’s not what the official documents said.”

“Just let me in, and we can talk.”

“Fine,” Lola pressed the button to let her in. “Ann, go upstairs.”

“But-” 

“And I’m keeping your phone.”

“Mom!”

“Upstairs!” Lola glared at her child. “Now!!”

This was the first time her mother ever glared at her and yelled at her like this. Realizing now she needed to do as she was told, Ann went upstairs quietly, but she lingered at the top of the stairs, as she desired to hear the adults talk.

“Look, Lola,” Cul tried to talk to her. “I was thinking about Ann’s happiness. She wanted to keep modeling no matter what, and if people found out she was doing poorly, it would look bad for her and her future.”

“So you’re telling me,” Lola began, “that being smart means nothing? Did you realize what could happen if she was asked a question and she couldn’t answer it properly? The entire reason she went back to school two years ago was to not let that happen again!”

“Listen-” 

“No, YOU LISTEN!!” Lola’s voice was at her loudest, and Ann flinched, having never seen her mother like this. “I made the mistake of not taking my education properly when I was growing up, and I had to marry that pig, and I hated it! I will do anything to make sure Ann never went through what I went through, and she was a straight A student in elementary school!! How could you ruin it!?!?”

“Okay, but-”

“And you went and bribed the teachers!?!? What happened if someone in the school leaked those documents to the public!? There are people who don’t like my daughter and are waiting for an opportunity to end her career! This could ruin everything for me and her!! Did you not think of it!?”

Her mother’s words sinked in. Ann’s eyes widened, as she never realized that something like this could ruin her career like this. 

“I guess we’re not going to see eye to eye,” Cul sighed. “I was doing this so Ann could be happy.”

“Trusting you to take care of Ann’s needs was a mistake,” Lola hissed. “Had I known this was going on, I would’ve monitored her education and punished her if needed. I should’ve known. She was missing school so much last year, and I didn’t question it because I believed you when you said everything was fine,” Lola said as she released an intense sigh. “There are rumors on the chat-sites, from kids in that school claiming Ann was buying her grades, and I just thought they were jealous, but they were right. They knew something was up!” 

“Okay, I know this is bad, but calm down,” Cul tried to talk again, but Lola exploded once more.

“From now on, Ann isn’t doing any modeling work,” Lola stated firmly. “Until her grades are back to what they used to be, I’m not letting her continue her work.”

“But ma’am-”

“This is my decision,” Lola continued. “We’ll be fine. I’m sure she’ll be fine and her grades will be good by the time summer ends. She can resume her career then.”

Until the summer ends? It was still April, Ann thought. Her mood further worsened as she finally went to her room. Her phone was temporarily gone, and so was the biggest thing to make her happy.

xxx 

Shortly after waking up due to the soft sound of drizzling, Gumi immediately dressed herself up. Grabbing an umbrella, she left her home, rushing to school and not wanting to be late. Due to the past two days, Gumi quickly assumed that she woke up late again. It was not until she had reached the school grounds when she decided to check her phone and see what time it was.

8:02AM.

She sighed, realizing she had made a minor mistake, and Gumi slowly entered, changed her shoes at the shoe locker before she headed to the classroom. As expected, she was the first person to show up. It was too early for even the representatives to arrive. Sitting at her desk, Gumi placed her belongings away and grabbed her phone out again. Until one other person showed up, Gumi could entertain herself by sending messages to her friends. Seeing Len’s name on her contact list, Gumi quickly pressed the message button and texted away.

To: Len-kun  
Hurry up! School is so boring at 8 in the morning! I need company! Don’t even ask why I’m here early. I thought I was going to be late again the second I woke up ^_^;

Pressing the “send” button, Gumi went to Kokone’s name and quickly texted a message to her.

To: Kokone-chan  
I did it, Kokone! I’m not late to school! I’m there right now! Be proud of me! Hurry up! I’m lonely here!

Once she hit “send,” Gumi went to look at her contacts and spotted “Miku-chan” on her contacts list. With a smile, Gumi knew Miku would love to hear about this. She began to type the message, detailing the past few days to explain how this morning unraveled. Before she could finish, Kokone had replied back to her.

From: Kokone  
Why should I be proud of you? You are at school at 8:07 in the morning. Even I don’t go to school that early! I’m still eating breakfast! Well, I’ll see you in way over half an hour. I’m not going to text while eating and walking.

Gumi smiled, though it was more in bitterness, as well as her eyebrows twitched up a bit. This girl, Gumi’s best friend of all people, had asked her to not come to school late, and that was exactly what Gumi did. Rather than being praised, Gumi was getting scolded for coming early. Sighing, Gumi decided this was worth bothering Kokone for during the break. Gumi was ready to resume her message, only for Len to reply back. 

From: Len  
I’ll be there in fifteen to twenty minutes. Don’t get too lonely. See you in a bit!

‘At least Len was being nice,” Gumi bitterly thought. Why couldn’t Kokone send such a short, nice response like that? Of course, Gumi knew Kokone was honest to a fault. Gumi sighed and went back to finish her message for Miku. Of course, life could be full of surprises.

“You’re here early,” a voice spoke out. Gumi quickly turned around, and Flower was standing by the entrance, staring at Gumi.

“Yeah, I woke up too early and thought I was going to be late,” Gumi informed her embarrassingly. Flower shrugged and placed her belongings on her desk, the representative desk. Flower went out in the hallway and returned a minute later with a filled watering can.

“Flower-chan,” Gumi called out, referring to her with her first name without a care.

“It’s Hanazono,” Flower answered. Gumi looked at her confusingly and Flower noticed. “We’re not close, so call me by my last name”

“That’s too long,” Gumi complained, but Flower did not care. “How about Hana?” Flower paused and glanced at the bespectacled girl.

“I guess that is fine,” Flower finally answered and began to water the plants in the classroom. Gumi stood up and went behind Flower.

“Hana, how come your parents named you ‘Flower’ instead of ‘Hana?’” Gumi began to harass Flower with questions. As they were alone, Gumi decided it was time to learn a little more about Flower. 

“I don’t know,” was Flower’s answer.

“Isn’t it a normal word in English and not a name in other countries?”

“I wouldn’t know. I don’t really care so much.”

“Is Len annoying you when you do chores with you?”

“You talk a lot.” Flower noted, and she was puzzled on why Gumi would talk to her for this long.

“I’m aware of that. Even Kokone told me I’m sometimes a nuisance because of that.” Gumi presented her biggest smile as if she was proud of this. In reality, she hoped this would help Flower to open up a bit to her.

“Seriously, people who think that girls who wear glasses are quiet nerds should meet you.”

“That stereotype is annoying. People see me and assume that I would be all shy and quiet as well as a know-it-all. Also, my eyesight is not that bad. I only need glasses to read words.” Gumi then removed her glasses from her face and stared at Flower. “You look perfectly fine. No fuzziness or blurriness or anything.”

“Are you that bored that you have to go talk to me while I am doing chores?”

“Len isn’t here yet.” Then Gumi remembered what she had wanted to do. “Oh, I still need to send Miku-chan a message!”

“Miku-chan?” Flower asked and immediately regretted saying it out loud.

“Miku-chan!” Gumi began to explain who Miku was. “Miku is a friend I made at a karaoke bar two years ago. She is an adult with super long teal hair that she often wears in twin tails, and her eyes are the same color.” At this point, Flower tuned Gumi out, although the girl was not aware of it and continued talking, placing her glasses back on her face. “Miku has a nice body, although her chest is pretty small. She also has a sweet personality, though she likes to pull my cheeks whenever I say something embarrassing right in front of her. Also, Miku has a great singing voice. Originally, when she talks, it is nasal and annoying, but when she sings, she can make it sound less nasally and sweeter and stronger.”

Then Gumi changed the subject.

“Hana, why did you help SeeU that time?”

“Hm?” Flower no longer tuned her out and looked at her.

“You tell me you don’t want friends and don’t want to be close to anyone, but you were quick to save her that day,” Gumi pointed out. “Why?”

Honestly, Flower wasn’t exactly sure why she did so, and before she opened her mouth, she noticed blonde in the distance.

“I see you’re early too,” Flower answered, thus sparing herself from answering the question. Gumi turned around and noticed the timid girl.

“Good morning, SeeU-chan!” Gumi cheered upon seeing a familiar girl with long, wavy hair decorated with cat ears. SeeU simply waved at the energetic girl.

“Good morning,” SeeU calmly said.

“Is there something you need?” Flower asked. “Or did you do what she did?”

“Hey,” Gumi smiled, and she was beginning to feel she got a bit closer to Flower.

“Um,” SeeU began and walked towards Flower. “I was thinking that I should help you out,” she answered. When she was right next to her, Flower turned to stare at her.

“That sounds like a good idea!” Gumi said, standing not too far from the girls. “SeeU and I can help too!”

Ignoring Gumi’s words, Flower turned to the doorway. “Ah, it’s Mayuko.” Before Gumi could even turn or ask, SeeU immediately pushed Gumi out of her way and fell to the floor, hiding behind a desk. Gumi stared at the blonde in disbelief. ‘Is she that scared of Mayu!?’ SeeU was shaking in fear as well.

“You should stop if you are that scared,” Flower warned SeeU before she walked away. Calming down, SeeU stood up and followed Flower. Gumi, with nothing better to do, followed the two girls out of the room. Flower placed the watering can back to its place and went to grab a dry rag. As she was about to place it near the faucet, SeeU began to speak.

“What did she tell your mother?”

Turning the water on and wetting the cloth, Flower answered. “My mother did not come.” Flower turned the faucet off and ringed the wet rag.

“Why?” SeeU asked in surprise. She had thought that everyone’s mothers had come.

“No idea,” was all Flower answered to the girl. Flower returned to the room, both SeeU and Gumi following her. “She probably doesn’t care about what happens to me,” Flower told SeeU.

“That can’t be right,” SeeU told her. Flower had stopped right in front of Mayu’s podium and placed the rag on it. SeeU stood on the opposite side, facing Flower. Gumi stopped right in front of the doorway, wondering what SeeU meant. “There is no such thing as a parent who doesn’t care about their kids.”

Flower stared at SeeU with an emotionless face, and all energy was sucked out of Gumi’s body when those words echoed in her mind.

“You’re a bit strange,” Flower told SeeU.

“Eh, why?” SeeU asked.

“Forget it,” Flower told her. “Although, you are not as strange as that girl in the glasses,” Flower concluded. She had expected a remark or some more nonsense from Gumi, but instead, there was silence. When Flower turned to look at her, she noticed Gumi’s face had paled slightly. Gumi looked up and when she noticed her eyes, she forced a smile.

“I’ll be back,” was all Gumi said before she ran out. SeeU, having placed her belongings, realized Gumi’s mood went south, and she wondered what happened.

“Is she… is she okay?”

“She’ll be fine,” was all Flower said, but she wondered as well if Gumi had a bad parent. She knew Gumi’s parents had not arrived as well. 

“Good morning!” Len cheered, walking passed SeeU and Flower. “You two are here early too. I knew Gumi was here though,” he told them. “Where is she though?”

“You’re the one who is late!” SeeU scolded him. “Don’t make Hanazono do everything. Hurry up and clean!”

“Sheesh,” Len grumbled, taking off his poncho. “I was about to help and there you go getting angry at me.” He placed his poncho and other belongings at a desk nearby and went out to get a rag to help Flower.

“Hey,” SeeU called out to Len, slightly following him. “What did Mayu say to your parents?”

“Parents?” Len asked. “I don’t have parents. I only have my aunt and my sisters.”

“Oh?” SeeU was puzzled and stunned.

“It’s way better than having parents who always go after you,” Len told her as he entered the room. “Although, Yukari always asks me what I am going to do with my life if I’m not that interested in grades. In the end, Yukari tells me, Rin, and Rana that we control our lives, so she isn’t bothered so much. Even more,” Len continued. “Our class is horrible. If it doesn’t change, everyone will be doing everything Miura says.”

Flower had moved on to wiping the floors, only to pause and look up to Len after he finished his statement. SeeU paused, rethinking on Len’s words, and then she recalled a conversation she had with her sister Uni a few nights before.

xxx 

_“So you feel guilty because she was made to do chores after she stood up to you?” Uni asked her younger sister. The two girls were in Uni’s room, and Uni was lying on her bed, already dressed in her pajamas, while SeeU leaned on the floor next to the bed, still wearing her seifuku._

_SeeU nodded. “Sis, what should I do?”_

_“There is nothing to worry about,” Uni told her. “Plus, you don’t have to do chores anymore.”_

_“I still want to do something for Hanazono, though.”_

_“What if she gets her parents to complain?” Uni suggested._

_“She doesn’t seem like the kind of person who would do that,” SeeU murmured._

_“Then,” Uni began. “There is only one thing you can do then.”_

_“Hm?” SeeU leaned towards her sister, curious to what it was._

_“Defeat your teacher and make her stop with the chores and the stupid rules.”_

_“That’s impossible,” SeeU complained._

_“Nothing will happen if you give up so fast,” Uni told her. “Also, you are trying what I view as impossible already.”_

_“Eh?” SeeU was confused._

_“I tell you there is no point in making our parents get along since they argue a lot the past few years, yet you try to make them get along,” Uni told her. “If I tell you there is no point in trying to stop Ms. Miura’s rules, will you give up?”Before SeeU could open her mouth, Uni grabbed SeeU’s workbook that was on her bed. “This question, and this and this,” Uni grabbed SeeU’s attention to the book. “They are wrong.”SeeU groaned and rolled to the floor, complaining even more than she already had._

xxx   
Kneeling down to the floor next to Flower, SeeU spoke up. “My sister told me something.”

“Hm?” Len walked towards the two girls, and Gumi returned quietly, taking a step closer to them.

“She said there is nothing left but to defeat Miu and make her stop with the stupid rules,” SeeU informed them. Len pondered over the words before it made sense in his head.

“Oh, I see,” Len spoke up. “Offense is the best defense!” SeeU nodded in agreement.

“How are we going to do it?” Flower asked.

“How are we going to do it,” Len mimicked Flower. “Yeah, how are we going to do it?”

“Yeah,” SeeU trailed off, looking up to Len. After a few seconds, Flower looked up at Len.

“Yeah,” Flower mimicked the two.

“Why are you looking at me?” Len asked.

“Because you’re useful,” Gumi told him, and with a rather serious tone instead of her cheerful one. “If anything, we’ll be using you to help us stop Miu.” SeeU and Flower nodded.

“Wait,” Len paused to register what Gumi had just said. “Why me!?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Compared to when I first wrote the chapter years ago and ignore little details, this chapter has more content, specifically the conversation between Ann and her mother and how Ann will have to go on with her school life.


	16. I Know All Your Secrets

“Everyone, please remember this.” A rather boring assembly took place, an assembly many were aware of. All the ninth graders were seated on the floor while the teachers dulled them to sleep with their words. “If a dangerous person enters the school,” Ueki spoke on the microphone, “You’ll hear the following over the PA system,” Ueki handed the microphone to Akiko, who accepted it and recited what the words will be if such a situation would happen.

“A big package has arrived,” Akiko spoke professionally, and she repeated herself. She handed the microphone back to Ueki, and he continued to speak.

“If you hear this announcement, listen carefully to your teacher’s instructions.”

In the crowd of students, SeeU sat by her friends near the front, listening dully to the announcement. As much as she likes Ann, Prima, and Chika, SeeU found herself wanting to sit next to Len, in case he had come up with a plan to defeat Miura. Of course, her friends were judgmental and believed that Len was not worth spending time with. In the back of the group of students, Len was next to Flower, and Gumi and Kokone were in front of them.

“Hey,” Len whispered, grabbing Flower’s and Gumi’s attention. Kokone heard him as well but decided to ignore him. “I thought of a plan against Miura.” Kokone quickly turned. Ignoring him? She was no longer able to do so.

“Against Miura?” Kokone asked. “What do you mean?”

“What is the plan?” Gumi asked, ignoring her friend. “Also, couldn’t you wait for SeeU?”

“Oh,” Kokone sighed. “It has to do with her then.”

Len ignored Kokone and Gumi as he continued. “We’ll throw a ball at her from behind. She’s old, so she’s probably out of shape.”

“That’s no good,” Gumi scolded him. “Also, no way is Miura old.”

“Miura is in her thirties, soon to be in her forties,” Flower enlightened the girl. Gumi stared at her in disbelief. There was no way Miura, with an elegant and youthful appearance, was near forty. Miura wore more casual clothes today, dressed in a dark top with a red skirt instead of her normal, plain, dark clothes. Like she was dressed for a date, Gumi wouldn’t believe her homeroom teacher was that old.

“Then,” Len went to explain his next plan. “We’ll say something to the media. ‘I’ve got a prize for you. Will you claim it?’”

“Len, firstly, this is Miura we are talking about,” Kokone began to explain to the boy. “I doubt she will fall for something so foolish like that.”

“Then there is no choice but to fight her straight on?” Len asked.

“No violence,” Gumi told him.

“Secondly,” Kokone grabbed their attention. “Why are you going against Miura? Her rules are fine.”

“What can we do then?” Len asked.

“Hey, don’t ignore me,” Kokone scolded him. She turned to Gumi. “What happened?”

“SeeU suggested that the only way to go against Miura is to stop her,” Gumi enlightened her.

“No wonder,” Kokone said. “SeeU, she is friends with the girls who hate Miura. Of course, if it’s for Ann, she will go against her.”

“I don’t think it’s about Ann,” Gumi told the brunette.

“What makes you think that?”

“SeeU has her own reasons to go against Miura.”

“What reasons?”

Before Gumi could remind Kokone about the first day of school, the incident where SeeU was made a rep because she had no pencil, and no one still had yet to find out who broke her pencils, Flower tapped on Gumi’s knee. When she looked down on it, Flower pointed to a direction. Gumi followed the direction, and Kokone and Len mimicked, and they all saw her eyes staring deeply towards the. The four students quickly turned to face the principal, unwilling to get in trouble with Miura.

“Next up,” Akiko announced. “Mr. Yamada and Mr. Hiyama will demonstrate how intruders will be handled.” As she finished speaking, Hiyama, holding a restraining rod, walked to the back of the crowd. All teens turned to the other side of the gym to watch the demonstration. After seconds of silence, Yamada disguised himself in the look of a criminal and arrived at the gym. Holding a cardboard cut to resemble a weapon, he slowly walked towards the crowd while making excessively childish grunting noises. A few students grew worried as Yamada came closer. It was only a demonstration, yet it felt a little too realistic for them. Yamada advanced forward, leaving Kiyoteru to demonstrate with the rod, but when it was made clear he was struggling to use it, more students grew unwary and fear began to take over them. 

Suddenly, Akiko felt the microphone escaping her hand. She looked as Miura spoke on the microphone.

“Year 3, class 3, return to the classroom.”

“What are you saying?” Akiko asked in shock. “This isn’t over yet.”

“There is no need to show this nonsense to the students, especially when a few of them are not separating this from reality,” Miura coldly informed her superior.

“What are you saying?” Akiko asked bitterly. She was not going to let Miu humiliate her once again. “We have instructions from the school board to guide the students through this.”

Mirai, who stood nearby, stepped forward while Ueki remained in his place. “We also received requests from the guardians to make sure we have all safety measures in place,” she informed her.

“Basically,” Miu began. “You just want to inform the Education Committee and to the guardians that you carried this out,” Miura coldly called out on her bosses. “That way, if something does happen, you won’t be held responsible.”

“What are you saying?” Akiko asked, but Miu quickly ignored her.

“This performance will serve only to scare these growing children.” Miura sternly glared at Akiko. “Emergency training is something that teachers should lament on and practice by themselves with no one else present.” While she spoke, an idea came to Len’s head. Miura turned to her class. “We are going,” she announced before she turned to leave the gym.

“Miss Miura!” Len cried out. Miura turned to him. “If the time comes, how will you protect us?” He asked proudly. All students turned to stare at Miura, who kept her gaze on her male student. “Please tell us about your plan,” he commanded.

“He’s right,” Akiko spoked, no longer keeping herself from commenting. “If you say that, you must have something thought out,” she arrogantly told Miu. Akiko allowed her harsh feelings of Mayuko, but she did not care. Akiko hoped to witness Miu at a moment of weakness. Everyone continued to look at Miu.

“As you wish,” Miura simply answered. She walked up to the back of the crowd and stood near Kiyoteru, who had stood awkwardly during Miu’s conversation with Akiko. Kiyoteru extended his arms, offering the rod in his hands. “No thanks,” Miu told him. “I don’t need something so useless.” Kiyoteru nodded and backed up a bit. Akiko had walked right next to Kiyoteru with a smile on her face. She believed this would be great to humiliate Miu for once.

“Yamada, please do it for real,” she requested

“Alright,” Yamada told her. “Here I go,” he confidently said.

“An intruder would not say something like that,” Miu told him seriously.

“Alright,” Yamada responded. In a second, Yamada quickly advanced to Miu. Once he got close enough, Miu extended her arm out and roughly pushed the man’s head back. Taking a step back, Yamada recollected himself and attempted to advance again. Yamada extended his arms with an intent to stab, although in pretend, but Miu was quick to push him back without him expecting it. He regained his stamina quickly and advanced forward, but Miu couldn’t be stopped. She grabbed his arm and spinned away. She remained unbothered as she tackled him to the ground, beginning to pin him, and all eyes remained focused on them.

“She’s really good,” Len gaped.

“So strong too,” Kokone added.

“She’s wearing cute underwear,” was all Gumi said before Kokone flicked her head. “What!?”

“Forget about her looks, okay?” Kokone sighed as Yamada stood up, but he shook his head, deciding it was over.

“Oh hell no,” Mirai stepped forward, and she roughly grabbed Yamada’s fake weapon before pushing him aside. “I’ll take care of this.”

“Mirai!?”

“Step back, old man!” Mirai hissed, and students became intrigued. Students were already aware that she did not like the new teacher, Miura Mayuko, at all, starting with the fact that Mirai’s prized student for homeroom, Ann, was placed under Miu’s care instead, but students heard things had been slowly escalating between the two. Mirai began to charge at Miu, but just like what she had done with Yamada, Miu was quick to push her aside and throw her down. Mirai quickly stood up and glared at Miu. Her anger was further boiling, and she wasn’t willing to let Miu win.

“Miura,” she harshly whispered before she advanced at her again. “What the hell!?” Mirai was not willing to accept defeat. She ran closer, only for Miu to grab her and lift her off to the air and suddenly, Mirai found herself thrown harshly to the ground. The students gaped, stunned to see Mirai up on the air for a split second before she was thrown down. Mirai, in a fit of rage, aimed her toy weapon at Miu, wishing for it to be a real weapon and intending to inflict pain, but Miu was quick. Her hand held the toy before Miu ripped it out of Mirai’s hand. Miu then grabbed an item from her pocket and held it by Mirai’s face. Recognizing the sharp tip, Mirai’s anger immediately died down as fear overtaken her.

“It’s for self-defense,” Miu announced. Looking up to Akiko, she asked, “Shall I continue?”

Akiko was too stunned by the turn of events. She had truly believed that Miu would never be able to show a demonstration like that. Yamada was among the toughest yet she defeated him with ease. The knife, however, remained the most unsettling thing she had seen. 

“No need,” Akiko simply answered. Standing up from Mirai, Miu began to walk away. Mirai held her throat in fear of what had happened the past few seconds. Akiko kept her gaze at where Miu stood previously. Kiyoteru, Meiko, Yamada, and Luka stood awkwardly. Ueki simply attempted to shrug off the entire scene.

“Class 3-3,” Miura Mayuko announced. “We’re going.”

xxx

Everyone in the class returned to their desks and kept their opinions and thoughts to themselves. After seeing her demonstration, they all realized they were doomed. Miu was only a teacher to them for homeroom, guidance, and the first lessons of the day along with the end to wrap the day up, yet it felt like she had controlled so much of their school lives for the year. The teachers for their other classes would only give them a decent amount for work, yet Miu will step in and expect them to finish the entire chapter, more than what they’re taught. Any note their teachers wrote about them, they were scolded to the point where they’re expected to write paragraphs of reflection on their actions. 

They got their mothers involved, thinking they could save them, but it was all useless. The students who couldn’t stand to be around Miura began to feel they had no choice but to obey. 

“Everyone, open your eyes.” Miu began to speak as all the students sat down quietly. “No matter how much you disobey me, it is all useless.” Miu looked at each and every teenager in the room. “I know everything about you. Everything you are thinking, things you hide and do secretly from your parents, all the secrets you don’t want your friends to know.”

They sat and stared, struggling to believe their teacher was a psychic, knowing so much about them. At the same time, it felt believable, as One and Maki were forced to hear their secrets exposed by her once. Even more, some of the students were aware that Miu succeeded in having Ann’s mother side with her, to the point where Ann was given no choice but to push aside her job and focus more on school. 

Some students glared, and in their minds, they believed Miu wouldn’t go so low as to know all of their personal details. She caught their looks and spoke again.

“If you don’t believe me, I can prove it,” Miu announced, a smirk rising on her face. The doubtful glances slowly disappeared as Miu walked towards the back, pulling out her phone as she stood in front of Sora. 

“Haruno Sora,” Miu spoke up clearly as she continued walking towards her. Her hand began to dig in a small bag she was carrying with her. “What would your parents think if they found out you often skip cram school to hang out with a high school boy you were dating?” Taking out a camera, Miu turned it on and showed it to the girl. Sora stared into the camera and saw a photo of her next to a taller man she knew very well. Her arm was linked with his, and she was drinking a mocha coffee he had bought for her. This all had happened the previous night.

“What’s this?” Sora quietly asked. How did Miu know this? Sora could only hold in her shock as Miu turned to face the irritated Iroha.

“Nekomura Iroha,” Miu began as she put away the camera and grabbed a recorder out of the bag. “During the Spring break before school began, you were talking down on your parents.” Miu pressed a button on the recorder.

“My dad is very stupid. He will buy anything I want and do everything I ask him to do. My mom is a huge pain, though. She is always nagging me about my bad grades. People like her should just die.”

Iroha’s hands slowly clenched tightly. Miu didn’t just hear Iroha say it, but she had gone out of her way to record it. How could it be? Iroha’s face burned when Miu walked away. Len, dissatisfied with what had happened, stood up and began to speak.

“Miss,” he called out.

“What is it?” Miu asked.

“You did not have to go and reveal their secrets like that,” Len attempted to speak in a polite manner.

“Oh?” 

“It’s not right for their personal info to come out like this.”

“But it’s okay for them to try to find ways to disobey me?” Miu began to question him. “These kids tried to trick their mothers into going against me, and when I spoke to them, they were shocked with the information I told them. Your classmates can’t even be trusted to behave.”

“Yeah, but,” Len sighed. “Maybe don’t reveal their secrets?” He couldn’t think of what else to say, but Miu replied.

“Should I share your secrets then?”

“Secrets?” Len asked. “I don’t have any secrets.” At that moment, Gumi’s stomach began to feel unwell as she worried Miu may be referring to a specific memory. Although, Gumi wondered, Miu wouldn’t be that cruel to go and out him like that….

Would she?

“You and your two sisters are living with your aunt.” After a moment of silence, Miu spoke up and asked him, “where are your parents?”

Out of everyone in that room, only Gumi had a rough idea of where they both were.

“No idea,” Len said and he stood. “I honestly wouldn’t mind knowing that either.” 

“Your mother is probably flirting with some no good man,” Miu began. Len’s eyes widened a bit as he and Gumi slowly realized it. Miu knew. “You and your twin sister were left in the nursery many times so your mother can go out and fuck a random man,” she continued and said it brutally. “It seems your little sister was a result of an affair, wasn’t she?”

Len’s body became stiff and Gumi grew cold. Gumi realized that Miu knew and showed no signs of stopping. How Miu could’ve know was something Gumi may never figure out. 

“Your father was always drinking and gambling. I heard he was sent to prison over seven years ago.” Miu kept on talking without a care. “It seems he was drinking because of how unfaithful his lover is. He’s a father to three kids, yet it didn’t feel like they were really his. Why does he need to take care of them, especially when your mother decided to one day leave and never came back?”

Everyone in the room grew uncomfortable while the message became clear to them: never disobey. Never speak up. Never question. Gumi, meanwhile, held her breath, as she kept her attention towards Miu. All the positive or optimistic ideas she had of her had shattered in seconds.

“Surely,” she spoke again. “Your father had used violence against you and your sisters too.” Len stood quietly as he found himself having no choice but to acknowledge that even Miu knew that part of his life. “Wouldn’t he say cruel things to you? Things like ‘you’re not even mine, that man-loving woman had you with another man?’ Wasn’t he also cruel to your little sister?” SeeU turned to Len, and she noticed his hands were clenched tightly to his clothes. She wanted Miu to stop, but SeeU found herself too terrified to say anything. Kokone, meanwhile, was stunned. She had known only bits and pieces of Len’s life, but she didn’t know how horrific it was, and now, to hear it from the mouth of a teacher she had respect for. Gumi’s hands held her skirt tightly, and her face was growing more red each second that passed. 

“Didn’t your mom tell you this?” Miu asked as she stepped closer to him. “‘It’s all your fault that my life is ruined. I never wanted you or your sisters. If it weren’t for you, I would have been happy.’” As she came to him, Miu placed her arm around Len, her hand closing on his shoulder. “Should I tell everyone why you act so carefree around them?” She asked, a hint of malice evident on her voice. Even though Len never answered, Miu continued anyway. “You don’t want anyone to know that you hate being alone.”

Very slowly, Len sat back on his seat. Miu kept her arm over him. Gumi, who had kept her attention on Miu, shifted her glance at Len as she noticed a single tear dripping down his cheek. “When you think of the future, you worry and want to cry,” Miu continued. “You want someone to hold you. You want someone to spoil you. You want to cry for help, but since you can’t do anything, you pretend to be strong even though you are a sissy.” Miu removed her arm, and she took two steps, standing right in front of his desk.

“Simply put, you are running away from reality.” Miu looked down on the boy. “The truth is you are scared and you can’t stand it. It is exactly like your parents have said. Nobody likes you. In the future, no one will love you. In fact, in this class, do you think there is even one person who likes you?”

Everyone kept their silence. No one even knew what to say. Len wasn’t necessarily disliked, but a few admitted in their minds that they never thought much of him, and even if they did, could they dare speak up against her? SeeU, who had grown to like him for the past two weeks, found herself too scared to speak up, not only out of fear of what Miu could do to her, but also due to how her friends saw him. They didn’t care and never did. Kokone remained too shocked by Miu’s exposure on her life that she couldn’t move at all. 

Flower shifted in her seat, intendending to stand up until Miu stared at her coldly. Looking at her glares, Flower realized Miu intended for no one to speak up as well as Flower sensed Miu may as well spill her secret of Flower wasn’t careful. 

But Miu didn’t notice her.

“Stop it!”

At last, Gumi stood up and she looked at Miu. Her eyes glared in frustration and her cheeks flared up. Gumi wasn’t going to let this happen without her speaking her mind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> When I was revising old chapters to update for this, I realize what originally was chapters 17 and 18 were both short enough to put them together as one chapter. It's not necessarily something I need to do, but I felt better doing so. I also should fix the number of chapters this fic may have total. It's nice how even after I plan it all out, I still change little things and realize two chapters can just be one.


	17. The Life They Had

About seven and a half years ago, Gumi had gone to school like the other kids. She and Kokone would chat happily in the hallways for as long as possible before they ran to their separate classroom. Gumi sat eagerly, taking out her notebooks and case for her glasses as she placed a smile on her face. It was a little charade she began so everyone in her classroom believed she was a happy girl with a happy life, and no one would guess that her parents were beginning to fight more and more.

“Good morning,” her teacher had entered, and Gumi, along with everyone, noticed a little boy with disheveled hair and a frown pasted strongly on his lips. Gumi could tell, when she noticed his blue eyes, that all the life was sucked out of him. She wondered if he was similar to her in terms of personal life or if he became the person she saw herself becoming in the future if her home life continued to go off the rails.

“Everyone, we have a new student,” the teacher announced, and students were quick to chat.

“He looks so gloomy.”  
“Creepy.”  
“I guess he’s kind of cute.”  
“He looks like a loner.”

“Introduce yourself,” said the teacher, but the boy turned his head away, and his voice was so quiet. No one could even hear his answer. “He’s just shy,” the teacher smiled. “This is Len. Please treat him well.”

The day continued on, and the students couldn’t decide if they wanted to talk to him or avoid him. Being children, they assumed he was just shy. Gumi thought differently. When it came time for lunch, a girl who looked much like him entered meekly, and the student realized immediately what her relation was to Len. He stood up and followed her out. Gumi, wanting to meet them and learn more of them, followed behind, and when they found a place of quietness, Gumi walked towards them and revealed herself.

“What? Who are you?” Len said coldly. “Go away.”

“Len,” the girl said. “It’s okay.”

“No, I want to be alone with you.”

“But…”

“Len, can I be your friend?” Gumi asked while her dress and hair, at the time shoulder-length, danced with the wind. 

“No.”

“Why?” Gumi remained persistent.

“Go away.”

“No.”

The month continued exactly like this. Gumi would greet him with a smile, and eventually, she began to leave candy on his desk. Kokone had asked repeatedly why Gumi wanted to befriend him, and Gumi learned the girl who looked like Len was in her class.

“What’s her name?” Gumi asked her.

“It’s Rin,” Kokone told her. “She’s really shy, but she’s not mean like the boy in your class. I think they’re twins.”

“I know something is hurting him,” Gumi said. “I want to help him get better and see people want to help him heal.”

“I see,” Kokone sighed. Gumi continued to talk to Len daily, no matter how many times he pushed her away and didn’t want her near him. One day, as the leaves continued to fall, Len walked out of school and noticed Gumi yelling at a few girls. His eyes widened when he witnessed Gumi falling to the ground as the taller girl pulled her hair roughly. He noticed Gumi’s struggle to fight back until her screams escaped, and Len, without a second thought ran towards them.

“Leave her alone!!”

xxx

Gumi stood up while glaring with fierce intensity at her teacher. “Surely,” she began. “Len is idiotic, but he is also very kind. A few days ago, when I was about to be late, he helped me by distracting you.” Her lips quivered and she felt her tears threatening to spill, but she ignored it, knowing it wouldn’t matter if she cried in front of her class. “When SeeU was a representative and was going to be late for dance class, he let her leave early, and he told her he would finish up so she wouldn’t be late.”

SeeU sat quietly, remembering that day, as it was when she first realized what kind of person he was. She knew they were close friends, so it made sense that Gumi was aware of this. Gumi, meanwhile, stood up and kept her attention towards Miss Miura, leaving her desk as she stood tall. 

“Back in third grade, when Kokone was crying because a student pushed her and dirtied her new clothes, he helped her up and tried to clean the dirt off for her.” 

Kokone began to recall that memory, and she couldn’t help but smile slightly. When she first met him, Len was never smiling and looked very lifeless. Kokone was scared to talk to him like many of the kids. Even when Gumi was able to break that wall he put up for himself, Kokone had remained too timid to talk to him due to all the teasing and cruel words kids threw at her, until that day came when Len defended her and helped her out. 

“In sixth grade, I tripped and fell during a relay race. Before I could even think, he yelled at me to continue doing my best with a smile.” At this point, Gumi couldn’t keep her glare anymore, and more tears were rolling down. Regardless, she continued to stand up for her own friend in front of the entire class. “And in second grade, he came to my class, and he was lonely. I did everything I could to get close to him and understand him, and he saw me getting hurt by older kids,” Gumi’s lips wavered as she spoke on to Miu. “That was when he helped me and screamed at them to leave, and he treated my wounds. You didn’t know that, did you?” She asked, and Miu’s face remained the same. “Len has many good points that you do not know about. There are a lot of nice things about Len. It doesn’t matter what kind of people his father and mother are. Len is a great person. That’s why I like him. That’s why he is my friend!” 

Gumi stopped talking, and she kept her harsh glare at her. Everyone remained in their seats. Some had never expected this outburst to occur, those the students who understood how close friends they were understood why Gumi exploded. A few wondered how Miu would respond to this. At this point, it was clear to them that she was an unforgiving teacher. It was likely that Gumi would be punished for this, regardless of whether they felt Gumi was justified in doing so. 

“I see you want to protect him,” Miu finally spoke after a long moment of silence and she stepped closer towards Gumi, eventually standing in front of her. “Then for the next week, you can be a representative with him.” Gumi’s face remained stiff as Miu spoke. “I said it before. I will not forgive those who disobey me.” 

“That’s fine,” Gumi answered. “I don’t care.” Miu turned around to glance at Flower.

“That is enough for you.” Miu said to her and then she turned to walk back to the front of the room.

“Isn’t that nice, everyone?” She asked nonchalantly. “Now you all understand, right? Disobey me. Speak up against me. Try to defend anyone else in this room when you should only worry about yourself. Do any of those things, and you’ll be cleaning with those two.”

xxx 

The leaves continued to fall that day, all those years ago, as seven year old Len did his best to console Gumi, whose cries continued to disrupt the peaceful afternoon. At first, he thought she’d be over it, knowing she only had a little scrape, but as she was showing no signs of calming down, he decided to go and take her back to her home, seeing the address written on her backpack, and he led the way. Only when he finally reached her home when he heard a plate fall, followed by screaming. He paused as his mind raced back to the days he spent with his mother and father.

“You bitch! You were sleeping with him!?”  
“Get off my back, you bastard,” his mother would hiss. “One day, I’m going to walk out and never come back.”  
“Take your kids with you!”  
“Hell no!! I’m not taking care of them!!”

“What is wrong with you!?” Len could hear the screaming behind the door, and Gumi’s cries finally quieted down. 

“You can go fuck off!!” A woman screamed. “I’m the one taking care of the baby, and all you do is sleep with other women to avoid being a parent!”

“Hey!! I’m the one working and paying the bills!!”

“You’re not working today, and all you do is watch TV like the fat slob you are!!”

A younger child’s cries broke out, followed by excessive swearing between the adults on who should look after the baby. Len realized this was no good, so he pulled Gumi away once more. He realized it now. Gumi understood his home life had troubled him, possibly because her home life was troubling her. They ended up at a quieter side of the park. They sat down on the bench by the lake, sitting next to each other when he finally spoke to her.

“My mama left me,” he told her. “And the police took my dad. I moved here with my sisters to live with my aunt.” He continued to explain, “Those screams I heard earlier… It reminded me so much of when my parents would yell at each other like that. Then my mom had enough and left. She left me and my sisters with our dad, knowing he wouldn’t look after us,” he sighed. “I thought I was the only one with issues, but I guess… you’re not that different.”

“They've been fighting ever since my brother was born,” Gumi said quietly. “And their fighting is so loud that it wakes him up.” She held her knees up towards her face, and she held them as she buried her face into them. “Thank you.” It was faint, but Len heard it clearly.

From that evening, a friendship was born.

xxx 

Len swept the floors while Gumi cleaned the counters. The students were leaving the building as Len and Gumi did their jobs of cleaning up the hallways on the first floor. They were silent for a long period of time, but they needed that silence to reflect on the events alone. Len was forever grateful to Gumi for standing up for him, and as he remembered the day he first opened up to her and became her friend, he was reminded once more how true a friend she was to him. Gumi did her best to move on from that incident, but it became clear to her that her opinion on Miura was forever tainted. What she thought before was a woman who can put the most troublesome students in their place, but after she went out and exposed Len’s life like that, Gumi couldn’t think of her in any other way except cruel and a dictator. 

“I will tell you something,” Len ceased on sweeping as he spoke. Gumi stopped and turned to Len. “I never thought anyone would care about me until I met you back in the second grade.” After pausing for several seconds, he continued. “I haven’t thought about crying or being saved.” He took a small breath and then continued again. “I’m not just a sissy pretending to be strong.” Then he turned to face the bespectacled girl. “You already know, but I thought it was weird that you kept trying to be my friend, but when I saw her get hit like that, I knew I had to step in and save you...Thank you.” He intended to be sincere, but he noticed Gumi’s complexed puzzled look and asked, “what is it?”

“You were creeping me out for a moment,” Gumi admitted.

“What?” He couldn’t stop himself from laughing. 

“I also forget you used to be a loner,” Gumi confessed. “You act so much like a weirdo, and you’re so chilled as well.”

“I guess I just have a happy place now,” Len admitted. “Auntie takes good care of me,” and then he pulled out a small doll-like puppet from his pocket. “You’ll come over to my house, right?” He said in a higher pitched voice while holding his puppet to his face. “Rin and Rana want to play with you.”

“Weirdo!” Gumi cried happily. “Why do you still play with that thing!?” Gumi began to walk away as fast as she could, stepping out of the school building. She didn’t even bother to grab a jacket or umbrella as the rain softly hit her face. “You’re fourteen years old! It’s creepy when you play with that doll!” She yelled while removing her glasses.

“But you can hug people without a care, even if you scare them?” Len asked cheerfully. The two continue to walk in the rain. Len continued to chase Gumi as she continued to run away.

“Stop! I can’t hear you!” She said happily, and she twirled around, allowing the rain to further wash away her anger.

xxx 

Miki stood at the entrance as she watched her two classmates goof off and play in the rain. She opened her umbrella while sighing. She knew Gumi was a nice girl, yet Miki couldn’t help but fear her kindness towards her was out of pity. Her thoughts about the girl remained conflicted as she stepped out quietly. She heard the soft sounds of the rain hitting her umbrella as she began to walk out of the school grounds. She didn’t bother to view where she was headed as she continued to think excessively. 

Unexpectedly, her umbrella had collided with another. Miki looked up and was about to apologize to whoever she crashed into, only to witness her own teacher standing right in front of her.

“I’m sorry,” Miki quickly spoke in shock and fear. Ignoring the apology, Miu spoke calmly.

“Do you remember?” Miu began. “Our conversation from last week?”

“Oh, yeah...” Miki recalled quietly as Miu stepped closer to her. 

“You don’t have a single friend in class,” Miu pointed out before she said, “Why not be friends with me? There are a lot of benefits.”

Miki continued to stare at her teacher while a small, malicious smirk grew in Miu’s face. The two stood in the rain, protected by their umbrellas. Miki’s thoughts became clouded by Miura’s words.

Be friends with her?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I remember when I would write fics, not just this one but others too, I very often use italics when referring to flashbacks or past events. For this chapter, I really didn't feel it was needed. It was a strange mood I had, but I felt even without it, it was clear enough that it was a flashback. 
> 
> I'll continue to update weekly. I finished '15 Year Love Story' and I'm (kind of) starting another fic.


	18. On the Third Week of Hell

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think we can all agree on this: I am terrible at updating my fics. Because I focus on my other hobbies, I continue to forget "hey, update this fic and another fic, why don't you?" So I'm sorry, here's the next chapter, and I will make sure to get the next one up in a few days.
> 
> PS: I have finished up to ch23.

He sat quietly by his desk with his headphones attached to his ears. Len listened to the music to tune the loud noise that was his sisters bickering over one another. Even though he didn’t feel it was necessary to do his homework, especially as he felt there was no reason as he decided his fate, a gentle girl had convinced him to be good and show up for the test, even if it was only for one day.

“You’ll already be a rep, as she said,” SeeU messaged him. “Just come for one day, OK?”

His mind then drifted off, remembering two days earlier when his teacher went out of her way to out his childhood. He realized later on it was her intention to make the class fear her, to make the class once and for all realize that fighting back was useless. Although he’d continue to skip classes for the sake of letting one less person be a rep, he wasn’t sure what else he’d do about the strict homeroom teacher who had everyone wrapped around her. Now that Gumi was angry with her though, Len worried Gumi might try to act out in response, all under the name of “getting back at her for hurting him.”

Len hoped she didn’t, as he was already viewing the moment as repayment for what he did for her years ago, when Gumi was getting hurt from those older girls.

xxx 

Meanwhile, a girl sat quietly on her bed as she drew out a sketch in front of her. Everyone around her was moving on to digital art, and Mizki long to join in as well, but with the lack of money to afford it all, she resumed to sketch all her thoughts out on paper. Drawing was often relieving for her, and it distracted her from everything going on in her life.

It’s been two weeks now since school began, and Mizki worried about what would be next. She wasn’t defiant like the other students, but she didn’t particularly like her homeroom teacher like her friends and other students did. She understood why Gakupo and Piko like her. Miss Miura was the person who put Ann in her place. Both boys didn’t like Ann at all. Gakupo was more polite about it, while Piko had a foul mouth and wouldn’t hide it, knowing very well their other friend, Kaito, was a huge suck up for Ann.

Mizki wasn’t as close to Kaito as she was to Piko and Gakupo, though it made sense. She had known Piko and Gakupo since elementary school while they had met Kaito when middle school started. They met him alongside Miki, and at first, everything was fine. Mizki was opening up to Miki, and it felt nice to be friends with another girl. Then Ann came later that year and messed everything up, or so Mizki viewed it that way. She never understood how Kaito liked her so much, nor did she really care to. What did worry her was how Kaito behaved those few months, to the point where he allowed it to ruin his long friendship with Miki, who responded by distancing herself from the group.

Mizki honestly would’ve rather been stuck with Miki than be stuck with Kaito, but the boy felt like a leech that wouldn’t go away. Despite the gross obsession he had with Ann, he kept coming back to Gakupo and Piko, and instead of reading the room, he would talk about Ann with a motor mouth. Gakupo tolerated it with politeness, while Piko was quick to talk rudely. Mizki never said anything as she was quick to feel numb when it came to talking to people she wasn’t close to. She hoped he’d go away by the end of year… but it remained the same.

“Mizki!!” Mizki’s mother opened the door and she snapped at her daughter. “I asked you to help me tonight and you didn’t come down at all!”

“Oh, I’m sorry,” Mizki cried out but her mother spoke again.

“You were drawing again, weren’t you!? Always getting lost in your sketches and not caring about your future! I see!” Her mother slammed the door, leaving Mizki to sigh as she glanced at the drawing she finished.

She remembered that day, when Miu spoke coldly to the class, and Mizki drew a dark, tall figure, similar to the no-face she had seen in a movie, and a sinister grin was placed. Behind her was a small boy who cried. Standing up to the darkness was a girl of light with a sword. Mizki stared at the girl and she remembered Gumi.

She seemed like the type to take good care of friends. Although she did like her two friends, Mizki wondered if Gakupo or Piko would do what Gumi had done. Mizki sighed as she placed her sketch down. As long as Mizki obeyed, she wouldn’t be yelled at by the homeroom teacher, or so she thought.

xxx 

Monday arrived without a care, and the morning occurred with no issues or interruptions. All the students took their morning test with obedience, and with a little break after it was over, the students conversed, sharing their thoughts on what could happen that week. The hottest topic was the fact that the school’s festival was coming up, and they worried on what Ms. Miura have in store for them.

At last, she returned to the classroom with the papers, all graded, in her arms, and the students sat quietly. Only Gumi stood up, beginning her role of the week.

“Stand,” Gumi announced once Miu stood in front of her podium. All the students stood in unison. “Bow,” she announced the next part, and everyone bowed while greeting “Good morning.” “Sit,” Gumi ended the ritual, and every student sat down, again in unison.

“Representatives, what are you doing?” Miu asked strictly. “The calendar is crooked,” she announced while her head turned to face the calendar that lay crookedly on the wall. “The bookshelf is dusty,” she spoke next, facing the back of the room where the bookshelf was. “What did you do when you cleaned this morning?” She asked sternly. With no choice, Gumi and Len stood up. Gumi went to the front of the room to fix the calendar, and Len went to the back to wipe off the dust. 

So this was how their week began.

“Well then,” Miu spoke sternly. “I am going to return the test you took this morning.” In her hands were the test papers all the students had used and written. Placing it neatly on her podium, Miu spoke again. “Once again, the top two students are Zhiyu Moke and Harukaze Flower, both scoring a 100 on the test.”

Seated near the front, Moke was able to grab his test quickly, while Flower, seated at the very back corner, had traveled a great distance to receive hers. As she stood in the front to receive her test, Flower’s face was rather dark and moody, as if she didn’t want to be near her teacher. Miu stared back rather coldly before handing the paper to her, and Flower walked away without hesitation. Gumi, who stood near the front to fix the calendar, noticed the dark and tense atmosphere but kept quiet as Miu announced the next few names. 

“Third is Kizuna Akari,” she said, and Akari stood up quietly, receiving her test as the next name was called. “Utatane Piko.” The boy stood next and grabbed his test while the last name was announced. “Shinzou Kokone.” Gumi smiled as she heard her friend’s name while Kokone stood up and grabbed the test without a word. “The rest,” she began slowly. “Are not even worth calling out.” Taking the tests with her hands and waving them, Miu spoke her last sentence in an eerily calm voice. “Come find your test yourself.” And Miu threw all the remaining test papers on the floor in front of her. 

All remaining students without a test stood up and sprinted to the area, desperate to find their exam. They all crowded together, shuffling the papers while also being cautious to not rip them by mistake. One by one, students left the small crowded area as they found their test. Gumi had snuck in, and upon finding hers and Len’s, she stood up and went towards the back where he remained. 

Both of their grades were decent. Many students had a decent grade as well. Only Ann was left in the front, and as she realized she was the only one, her face began to turn red. She looked around in desperation, only to face the front and find Miu holding a paper in front of her, as well as in front of the entire class. Ann’s name was written on the top, as well as a large 21% written for everyone to see. Growing more embarrassed with each second passing, Ann slowly accepted the paper as Miu spoke again. 

“Isn’t that nice, Miss Jody?” Miu asked maliciously. “Even though you have the worst grade in the class this week, you can go on without being a representative because Miss Nakajima Gumi disobeyed me.” Slowly, Ann nodded and stood up from the floor. At this point, she finally knew better than to talk back to Miu. Anything she did as an attempt to get her way, Miu would find a way to ruin her plans. At this point, Ann had lost so much that she knew she can’t speak out anymore, especially now that her mother has become much more strict to her. Ann returned to her seat, but not before she looked at Gumi and Len and frowned. She knew she’d be in that place if it weren’t for Gumi.

“On the following Friday,” Miu began to announce after Ann sat down. “We will have an early dismissal. On that day, we, as the entire school body, will host our annual festival.” Opening her laptop, Miu continued her speech while students, who had been curious about what they were to do for the fast, sat up with eagerness willing to listen. “In the ninth grade,” she spoke while taking out a disc from a CD box. “Class 1 will do a presentation on the school’s history.” She placed the disc inside the laptop. “Class 2 will do chorus.” Miu pressed and clicked around on her laptop before turning it around for the entire class to see.

“Class 3 will perform a dance.”

The video on the laptop began to play. The students in the room watched. In the video, a group of students around their age appeared and began to dance to a foreign, classical song. Everyone watched, and most students began to show a face of disinterest. Boring. Dull. Uninteresting. All these thoughts came to their mind as some showed disappointment.

“We have to dance this?” Wil groaned.  
“Wouldn’t chorus be better?” Yu asked.  
“Chorus is easier,” Ken complained.

Miu turned the laptop back to her, and she paused the video. “We will practice the dance every day after school,” she announced to the class. “I will make sure that all of you will dance this perfectly by the time of the assembly.”

As usual, students began to complain. 

“What about clubs?” Sora cried.  
“We won’t be late to cram school, right?” Akari asked.

“You are all excused from your clubs for these two weeks,” Miu explained. “You’ll be fine and be able to leave on time for any extra classes… that is, if you do it right.” She paused, allowing students to take in her words as she further explained. “The students who can perform the dance the best could receive rewards.” A few students’ faces began to show interest and subtle excitement, and a few others glanced at one another. “That’s right. Maybe I can listen to a request of yours. Maybe… I can stop deciding everything on grades?” More students’ facial expressions changed to that of eagerness, most of them feeling willing to do their best as Miu teased them with her words.

“However,” she said next. “If you screw up, you will be punished.” All the smiles and joy were wiped off quickly from their faces. “If you don’t obey or can’t get it right, you may as well clean with the representatives.” 

Several students turned to the back where Gumi and Len stood as they took in their teacher’s words. No one wanted to be like them in terms of cleaning up everyone’s messes. Mizki, however, glanced down at her lap, realizing she was most likely doomed. Despite doing well in most classes, she often had low scores in gym due to her inability to do any fitness activities as well as others. She couldn’t see herself getting out of this easily.

xxx

“Please try the basic movements that I just taught you, starting with the first row.”

The day may have ended, but it was the time for them to learn the dance. Dressed in their gym uniforms, they were instructed the most basic moves. The first row with ten kids stood up and showed the moves they were taught. Left. Right. Arms out. Arms in. Circle. Circle. Clap. Clap. Spin. Tap. Spin. Tap. It felt easy for all the kids in that row. 

“Next row,” Miu announced next, and the next eleven kids stood up and began to dance. In that time, Ann quietly crawled to SeeU and they chatted quietly. 

“Isn’t it great that we are in dance school?” Ann asked confidently.

“I’m not as good as you,” SeeU complimented her.. “Also, you had to perform sometimes. You are better than me.”

“If it goes well, Miu will listen to one of our requests,” Ann quietly beamed with excitement. “Maybe she’ll convince my mother to let me model again.”

“Yeah,” SeeU smiled. 

“Next row,” Miu announced as the second row sat down and the third row stood.

“Oh, that girl is going to dance. Wonder how badly she will screw up,” Ann commented, and SeeU, knowing who she meant, nodded but she wasn’t as eager as Ann. Both girls began to watch Miki as she danced, but very quickly, SeeU’s attention turned to another girl.

“What the hell? She isn’t making a mistake,” Ann commented in disgust as Miki performed the movements perfectly.

“Yeah,” SeeU commented quietly. “But, her…”

“Hm? What-,” Ann paused when she saw Mizki, who was not far from Miki. “That’s…”

“Now, all together,” Miu announced, and everyone stood up. Clapping, Miu chanted, “five, six, seven, eight,” and everyone redid their movements. Left. Right. Arms out. Arms in. Circle. Circle. Clap. Clap. Spin. Tap. Spin. Tap. Most students spun gracefully at the end and they breathed, all hoping they did well. After they finished, Miu slowly began to walk towards the third row, stopping at right in front of Mizki.

“Miss Sakurada,” Miu said. “Do it again.” As she clapped, she chanted, “five, six, seven, eight.” Mizki began to redo the dance, and everyone saw it. Mizki’s movements were below standards. Her arms wouldn’t extend as well as others, and her legs shook much more than it should. Some couldn’t tell if she was lazy, terrified, or genuinely not good at the basics.

“Don’t hesitate,” Miu coldly commanded the girl.

“Yeah,” Mizki quietly replied. After she clapped and reached at the ceiling with her arms, Mizki tapped with her feet and turned very meekly.

“Your posture is terrible,” Miu criticized the girl as she was nearly finished dancing.

“Yeah,” was all Mizki could say. Once she finished, Miu dropped her arms to her sides and stared at the girl in front of her.

“That was disgraceful,” Miu told Mizki. “Why is your rhythm so bad?”

Slowly, Mizki held on to her shorts, and she lowered her head. “I’m sorry,” she murmured.

‘How mean,’ SeeU thought as she watched Miu speak to Mizki like that. SeeU never realized that she had actually whispered those words until Miu turned to her. A few students began to follow Miu’s gaze, and SeeU then realized it.

“Did you say something?” Miu asked coldly. SeeU quickly shook her head. Miu walked up to her and stood in front of her. “Try it,” she demanded.

“Eh?”

“Hurry up and do it,” Miu impatiently told her. Clapping, she said her usual countdown, and SeeU performed in front of her perfectly. Reaching the end of the dance, Miu’s clapping slowed down, and then she dropped her arms. “Do you go to dance class?” Miu asked nonchalantly.

“Ah, yeah,” SeeU answered, trying to be polite and smile.

“I can tell,” Miu said. “It wasn’t good at all.”

“What?” 

SeeU was taken aback as Miu began to explain.

“You can portray the moves perfectly, but there’s no emotion to it. Therefore, it wasn’t good. It only looked as if you were just playing around.”

“What…” SeeU whispered.

“There are probably other people here who are or were in dance or ballet school,” Miu announced as she walked away, speaking for every student to hear. “For senseless people like you guys, those few years were a waste. It was a waste of money, pure and simple. It was all just for your parents’ self satisfaction. They make you do it because others were doing it, or they couldn’t even do it themselves when they were young.” They stood quietly, and some students held in their anger, not wanting to speak up against her out of fear of getting trouble.

Gumi felt differently.

“Miss, please dance for us!” Gumi cried out while looking at Miu. When her teacher looked back, Gumi continued. “I want to see you perform. Let us better understand how it should be.” In reality, Gumi really wanted to see if Miu could really portray a dance with grace and perfection. A few students were startled by Gumi’s request, and Kokone, while understanding that Gumi was still mad over the event that happened that day, wished Gumi had kept quiet, fearing Miu would punish them for it.

“Alright then,” Miu accepted, surprising the students who expected a sudden punishment. “Everyone, sit down.” Slowly and cautiously, everyone sat on the ground and watched their teacher. In a few seconds, Miu chose to make the first movement, and her dance proceeded. When the minutes passed on, everyone watched in awe and amazement. The moves were flawless. Her arms extended beautifully as they reached the sky. She twirled elegantly. A few ballet steps were made effortlessly. She had kicked her leg up gracefully. In an ending pose, Miu stared at her class with a look of elegance, and everyone could only look at her in amazement and envy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For anyone who had read my original version of this fic, Rin/Len was the character who was the quiet, artistic one in the class, and obviously with Rin and Len appearing in this fic in different roles, it meant someone else was going to be this character. During my heavy revising on the plotline itself, I decided to go for someone I really didn't write about so much in fics, a vocaloid I don't explore enough: VY1. 
> 
> Here, VY1 is Sakurada Mizki, a quiet girl who loves to draw and is shy. Her backstory will differ greatly from what I did in the original attempt of writing this, so maybe in a way, this is like seeing a new character.
> 
> On another note, I began to write a plotline for Leon. The biggest reason why I switched Len and Leon around for this is because in April, I realized I can write a backstory for Leon and Miku, and this may sound weird, I wanted to experiment and see Leon and Miku together and didn't want to do Miku and Len this time, hence why I switched characters around. I don't know if I'll start this story after this fic ends or at the start of 2021. It'll depend on my mood, but we'll see how things go.
> 
> I would say go to my deviantart page for more notes about this fic, but I also been doing a terrible job with updating there, so yeah. Let's get that clear. My priorities are all over the place.


	19. The Result of Dancing

“Seriously?” Sora said with a heavy sigh. “You can’t even do this!?” After the practice ended, the students returned to the room, although most of the girls arrived before the boys did. Almost immediately upon arrival, Mizki was roughly pulled away from her desk and dragged to the back of the room, with Sora, Iroha, and Tianyi angrily surrounding her. “You have to do this,” Sora said as she grabbed Mizki’s wrists and moved them about. “Do it!!” She hissed. Nervous, anxious, and suddenly fearful, Mizki’s arms could only wobble about, and Tianyi laughed.

“She’s so bad,” she whispered.

“Unbelievable,” Sora sighed. “You can get good grades, but you can’t even dance. Pathetic.”

Behind them, several students were looking at them. Some glanced with smiles as they found the interactions or Mizki’s failed attempts of reciting the moves amusing. Some were concerned and worried, as well as debating on whether to intervene or not. SeeU, sitting quietly at her desk, was looking at the girls with concern. She knew, from the several times she eavesdropped by mistake, that those girls didn’t like SeeU’s friends and thought poorly of them.

But they weren’t any better, were they?

“Seriously!? Are you dense!?”

“Can’t even do it right, ahaha, so dumb.”

More students joined the room, and Kaito, being one of the kids to enter, headed straight to Ann and began to converse with her, not ever noticing that Mizki was in trouble. 

“Ann, you didn’t get your phone back?”

“Nope,” she sighed. “I’m punished. No phone until I get better grades.”

“But-”

At that moment, Piko had entered the room and took notice of the girls in the back. The moment he found the discomfort showing in Mizki’s face, he screamed.

“What are you doing!?”

Everyone ceased their conversations as Piko ran all the way to the back, and with no care, he roughly pulled Sora’s hair. 

“What!?” Sora cried out. “I’m trying to help her.”

“Help? She looks uncomfortable,” he hissed.

“Yeah. She’s ready to cry,” Iroha laughed before realizing she should’ve kept quiet. 

“Bullies, all of you,” Piko hissed, and he was ready to hit, until Gakupo came in time and grabbed his arm.

“Piko, enough,” he tried to intervene. “Girls, please, just leave.”

“Fine,” Sora said in a cold manner, but not before pushing Mizki out of her way. Iroha and Tianyi followed after, and they all had grabbed their belongings before leaving the room. Piko’s anger didn’t end there.

“Kaito!” He yelled, directing his anger at the clueless boy who just wanted to talk to his friend. “You came here before us and you didn’t notice Mizki in trouble!?”

“What,” was all Kaito could say before Piko kept talking.

“Of course, I forgot, it’s you, the dumbass who only cares about the empty headed idol.”

“What!?”

“Piko, enough!” Gakupo’s voice rose and it was clear to Mizki that he was growing irritated. “Drop it. Kaito can do what he wants.”

“Yes! Listen to him!” Kaito tried to defend himself. “I just wanted to relax after dancing!”

“And so did Mizki but you didn’t bother!”

At this point, she had enough. The thought of her friends fighting over her was just as bad as being harassed by her classmates. Mizki grabbed her bags before storming off, and only SeeU noticed she walked off. 

xxx 

In another room, Gumi was sweeping while continuously thinking about her teacher’s dance. She stopped, and without a second thought, she twirled, trying to imitate it, in hopes that she can do it that easily with a greedy desire to believe she could do it better.

Her feet failed her as she landed on the ground. With a heavy sigh, she stood back up and kept sweeping.

“How come she can do anything?” She angrily asked as she sighed again. “Always referring to us as idiots who can’t think for ourselves. Always showing she’s better than all of us and can do everything!” Gumi’s bitter behavior didn’t go unnoticed by her friend.

“You’re still mad at Miu for Friday, aren’t you?”

“Damn you, Miura Mayuko!”

“Taking that as a yes,” Len sighed. Placing the books he was holding in his arms on a table, he crept up to his angry friend. As she was too busy growing frustrated over her teacher as she cleaned, she never noticed her friend coming behind her until she felt fingers stabbing her rib cages.

“Len!” The girl shrieked, trying to hold back her giggles. “Stop it!” She tried to suppress her laughter while struggling to free herself from him.

“Stop being so angry then,” Len smiled as he released her hold on her. Gumi turned and faced him, releasing a sigh. Gumi pouted and had wanted to scream, but she held herself back. Sighing in defeat, she chose to let out her anger for a moment. “Also, what are you going to do?”

“Hm? What do you mean?” Gumi asked him.

“You have a club after school,” he reminded her. “Your coach won’t be happy if she hears you were cleaning because you disobeyed Miss Miu.” Taking in Len’s words, Gumi realized he was correct. Had it been any other week, Gumi probably could balance between her club and her chores. This wasn’t a standard week, as everyone is expected to partake in the dance for the upcoming festival. Gumi couldn’t see how she could balance it all when a game was coming up very soon. 

“Oh, the coach will be mad,” she giggled nervously. “She can’t kill me today though.”

“But she will tomorrow,” Len told her.

“She can’t remove me from the club though. I’m precious.”

“I know you are. I’ve seen you when I go to your basketball games. You are one of the best players on the team, at least until you trip over your own feet.”

Gumi shoved Len and walked past him. “I do not trip over myself!” She claimed.

“Yes, Gumi,” Len followed her as he spoke. “You do. Even Kokone had recorded that one game you were in last year. You were all good until you slipped on nothing and face planted the floor.”

“Embarrassing!” Gumi yelled. “Wait,” she paused when she took in Len’s words. “Kokone recorded that!?” Len nodded gleefully. Angrily embarrassed, Gumi walked faster, but Len caught up, walking beside her.

“You two are weirdos! Weirdos!”

“I’m weird?” Len laughed. “You’re weird too!”

“No!”

They kept going back and forth as they walked in the hallway, never noticing a classmate of theirs nearby, and they kept coming closer unknowingly.”

“Seriously, stay away!”

“What am I? A dog now?”

“Worse than that!”

“What am I then!?”

“Water flea.”

“What the hell!”

They kept chatting and throwing playful insults without a care, all while still failing to notice her until it was too late. Gumi collided with her, with their foreheads hitting one another, and pain followed the both of them. Gumi remained standing as she rubbed her forehead from the collision. The other girl, however, had dropped to the ground and grabbed her head while sitting.

“Oh, Miki! Are you alright? I am so sorry for this girl hurting you like that,” Len apologized to her while not wasting time in speaking weirdly about Gumi. As she recovered, Gumi glared at him.

“You are making it sound like I’m an antagonist,” she hissed at him. Turning to Miki, Gumi extended her arm out to her, an offer to help her up.

“In a way, you kind of are one,” Len commented as Miki accepted Gumi’s hand. The green haired girl glared at him again while she pulled up the girl in front of her. “Now I know why Kokone often complains about you.”

“What the hell do you mean by that?” Gumi asked bitterly.

“Well,” Len began and faced Miki. “Nod if you agree with everything I am going to say, Miki.” Miki nodded slowly, unsure of what is going to happen. “For the start, Nakajima Gumi is a molester, taking every opportunity to hug and jump her classmates.”

“I don’t think molesting is the same as… hugging,” Miki said meekly as Gumi stared at Len in disbelief.

“Gumi is also a dimwit. Last week, she turned off her alarm entirely by mistake, and then she went to school super early afterwards, thinking she was late again.”

“That really happened?” Miki asked while turning her attention to Gumi.

“It did,” Len informed her. “And she was begging me to show up early. In addition,” he continued. “Gumi has anger problems.”

“I do not,” Gumi complained to him.

“Oh, really?” He turned to her. “Explain what that was five minutes ago.”

“You being an idiot.”

“You see, Miki,” he asked Miki while pointing to Gumi. “That was purely said out of resentment.”

“No,” Gumi slowly began, but Len continued straight away.

“Did you know last year, Gumi casually told someone they weren’t special for being well behaved?”

“Kokone already killed me for that,” Gumi commented. Miki was at a loss in how to react, and she was ready to ask why Gumi said what she said to the unknown student, but very quickly, she spotted a girl nearby, a girl with short dark hair, about the same length as Len’s, holding two bags. Remembering her from when Miu singled her out, Miki unknowingly called out to her. 

“Mizki?”

Very quickly, Len and Gumi ended their conversation, which was entirely pointless bickering, and turned behind them. The girl stood timidly as the attention went towards her. 

“Ah, Mizki!” Gumi beamed.

“Is there something you need, Mizki?” Len asked.

The entire time the three were conversing with each other, Mizki was overhearing them, interested in their conversations. Wanting to get away from her friends and forget everything that happened, Mizki was enjoying the chatter she heard, recognizing them as good friends to one another and wishing to have something like that. It was all fun until she was noticed by Miki. 

“No,” Mizki spoke with a quiet voice. “It’s nothing,” she told them before suddenly turning, running away from them as she went down the stairs.

“Hey, Mizki!” Gumi yelled out, quickly running to the stairway where Mizki was at. “Wait up! Wait up! Wait up!” Gumi made it to the stairs, but when she looked down, the girl was nowhere in sight. “Eh, she’s gone,” she said disappointedly.

xxx 

Elsewhere, the teachers had gathered in their room where they could discuss their plans or grade papers quietly. After dealing with their classes to ensure the students knew what to expect for their main teachers, they sat back to their assigned desk to pick up their work. Mirai Komachi was the last teacher to arrive, and with a huff and her cheeks bright red, she dropped her items without a care. As her actions weren’t subtle, her co-workers noticed with ease.

“Everything okay?” Asked Kiyoteru.

“These kids,” Mirai sighed. “It’s like they don’t even want to cooperate.”

“Well,” Yamada joined the conversation. “You need to be a bit firm with them, is all.”

“I just asked them to decide on the roles for the skits, and they bickered on and on,” Mirai vented. “And some didn’t want to partake, saying things like I’m a suck-up and other insults.”

“Well,” Yamada tried to aid her. “I think you need to be strict with them.”

“I’m not that strict, but the kids for my homeroom aren’t this fussy,” Kiyoteru sighed. 

“Good for you,” Mirai hissed. “After that performance on Friday, some of mine treat me like I’m a joke.”

“Well,” Yamada tried to speak, but he wasn’t sure how to comfort her in this case. In his eyes, Mirai did step out of line that day. She allowed her emotions and jealousy to get the best of her, only to be humiliated when Miu defeated her with ease. 

“Don’t want to be treated like a joke?” Luka scoffed. “It’s your fault. You thought you could beat her,” she said while pointing at Miu, who was minding her business. “Only for her to beat your ass in front of all those kids.”

“Oh, shut up,” Mirai said coldly.

“Ladies, please,” Meiko intervened. “Akiko asked me to tell you all to prepare for the future parent-teacher meetings for next week.”

“Oh, you mean the one Miss Miura already did?” Mirai asked with a cruel attitude. 

“And you wonder why your students treat you like a joke?” Miu finally looked up and stared at her. “Ever since the school year began, all you whined about was how you couldn’t have some famous fourteen year old child in any of your classes, and it bothers you so much that you don’t have one specific child that you neglect your 29 other children you’re responsible for in your homeroom class. All over not having a certain kid, isn’t that pathetic?”

Mirai stayed quiet, only staring back at her angrily before she turned away to open her laptop silently. To Miu, Mirai acted a bit too much like Ann: spoiled rotten, negligent on what she really should pay attention to, and not understanding what major consequences she’d face if something were to go terribly wrong. From what Miu knew with the limited info she gained, Mirai came to this school with hopes and dreams of being a great teacher, but along the way, her vision had corrupted and she lost sight of where she was. 

In a way, Miu felt sorry for Mirai.

“Miss Miura,” Luka, sitting next to Miu, said quietly. “What did you do to Ann? I saw her job was finally put on hold.”

“I talked to her mother directly,” Miu answered. “I told her exactly what she needed to know, and she took my advice.”

“Incredible,” Luka commented. “I asked that dumbass to do something, but she didn’t want to listen, and I heard Ann’s agent takes the calls instead of her own mother.” Miu knew who Luka was referring to and only nodded.

“From now on, Ann has no choice but to obey me,” Miu stated before she asked a question. “There were a few parents I wasn’t able to meet. One of them…. The guardians of Sakurada Mizki.”

“Oh, her,” Luka replied. “I did my best to get in contact with her mother, but she seems super busy. I know she runs a little grocery store on her own. Hmm, I wouldn’t worry about Mizki so much. She’s a smart kid, really nice too… I think the problem with her is she’s really shy and would only hang out with these two boys. I believe they’re in your homeroom class as well. If she could open up a bit more, it’d be great. She needs confidence.”

“I see… thank you.”

xxx 

“How come you don’t want to tell Mom and Dad about the ceremony?” Uni calmly questioned her little sister who sat next to her. Uni was reading the advertisement of the ceremony she held in her hand as SeeU snuggled her older sister. “Were you bullied by Miu again?”

“Nope,” SeeU spoke calmly. “Nothing like that this time.”

“Don’t get so worked up,” Uni told her. “Oh, how about skipping it with that boy?”

“It’s okay,” SeeU smiled at her. “Miu announced that she will listen to a request if we do it right.” Her smile slightly grew. “She teased that we can ask her to not deci.”

“Somehow,” Uni spoke as she dropped the paper and crossed her arms. “I have a feeling that if you try this hard, things will grow more miserable over time.”

“Eh,” SeeU began to complain. “Stop it. Sis, please!” she cried. Not wanting to think the worse, she stood up. “I learned something at dance today. Watch this.” With a smile, she began to dance. As SeeU made noises from her mouth, resembling the music she had heard in class, she moved her arms freely, imitating the dance she recited today. Very freely, she moves them and steps at her place, keeping a cheerful smile on her face.

Unlike how she performed in front of Miu, SeeU’s passion was beaming and Uni could tell her sister was enjoying it.

“What do you think?” She asked as she pointed her right arm forward, ending her small, fifteen second dance. Uni chuckled as she watched her little sister entertain her. “Isn’t it great? I will do it one more time. Here I go!”

xxx 

Pressing the on button on the remote held in her hand, Miu turned on the ipod next to her. Right after school ended, Miu had the entire class go and change into their gym uniform, and she took them to the roof, where everyone was to show what they have learned in the past few days. As the music began, Miu clapped. “Five, six, seven, eight!” She gave her class the signal to perform.

In their assigned position, everyone recited what they were taught since Monday. Arms extended outwards, and circles were made. Then everyone tapped as they turned clockwise. After finishing Monday’s lesson, everyone went down to their knees, and they all extended their arms out to their sides correctly. They performed in unison, all performing without issue, and they were able to recite it well.

Including Mizki. Even though her moves remain weak, she was able to perform what she was taught. She had no confidence, and anything physical wasn’t something she felt she could conquer. Gym was never fun for her, so why would dance be fun? Especially when it was to a song that bored her, Mizki couldn’t bring herself to enjoy it or even tolerate it. As a result, when the students were to lie on the ground and dance with only their arms, Mizki realized she dozed off, and she struggled to remember what she was to do. She stared at her surroundings in a panic as she realized she would surely be scolded. 

Miu’s clapping slowed down until she stopped, and she grabbed the remote to end the music. Her face remained stoic, but her eyes were ready to kill. Students, not expecting the music to stop abruptly, began to sit up and wondered what had happened while Miu stood from her seat and began to walk towards Mizki. 

“What will it take for you to remember this?” Miu bitterly asked. “Because of you, practice will never end. Do you realize you are being an inconvenience to the people around you?” Mizki couldn’t even bring herself to look at her teacher. She kept her head held down, feeling embarrassed. “They are worried about making it to cram school on time,” Miu continued to scold her. “Some want to attend their clubs. Others just want to go home and do their homework.” At that point, Mizki glanced up and her body paled as she saw all the looks her classmates were giving. They glared. They pitied. They struggled to not laugh in frustration. They held their breaths in anger. Mizki knew this was her fault because she struggled so much to get the dance down. 

“I am sorry,” she whispered. Gumi, who understood the pain Mizki was going through, spoke up.

“Miss.”

She knew she’d be scolded, but Gumi was ready to embrace it.

“What is it?” Miu sternly asked as she turned to Gumi.

“Please forgive her.” Surprised with her words, Mizki looked up and turned to Gumi. “She is trying her best,” Gumi tried to explain to their teacher.

“Talking for others?” Miu asked. “You still don’t realize that you are disturbing everyone else?”

“I don’t care,” Gumi said honestly. “I don’t like that you’re cruel to Mizki.” Some kids looked back at their teacher, fearing that maybe she'd explode, or that she’d give Gumi and unforgivable punishment, or worse, get everyone involved. 

“Everyone,” Miu said calmly yet sternly. “You can all go. Making you guys stay because of these two wouldn’t be good for you children.” Upon hearing those words, the students stood up quickly. Some ran as fast as they could as they were scared to see what Miu could do to those girls. Len had stayed and lingered until Miu told him, “You will only have to clean the classroom.” After this he walked away a bit slowly, but he heard her talk to Gumi and Mizki. “For you two, as punishment, you both will wipe every hallway in all three floors in this school. Since you can’t even do the basics properly, this will help you do better at dance.”

The students that had not left yet said their goodbyes while pitying the girls for the overload of cleaning they’d have to do. Flower remained as the only teen on the roof apart from Gumi and Mizki. Very briefly, she wanted to criticize Miu, telling her how cruel it was to say those things to Mizki, but on the other hand, Flower knew she wouldn’t win. Most likely, she’d be punished similarly to how Gumi was punished. When Miu looked at her, Flower could only end the brief staring contest and move on.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I remembered to update! Yes! Finally! Now I'm still a few chapters behind and later I'll be ready to update what I think is chapter 24 (in the original version of my fic, it was chapter 26 I think, I'd double-check). 
> 
> Some of the new dialogue and details in this chapter is partially influenced by the Korean version of the drama I'm writing this fic off of (but with vocaloids + changed details). Girls picking on Mizki over the dance moves? KR version. Teacher meeting (but about Mizki and not Ann)? KR version. Despite this, I'm still partially keeping with the JP version while also changing dialogue to not be too much a copycat, especially when I'm not making the vocaloids to be 100% like the characters in the shows (except Mayu/Miu). 
> 
> I'm still reposting old chapters on my deviantart... if I remember to.


	20. Punishment.... Or Training?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm well aware I'm not doing a good job of updating, and I apologize. This month has been so hella weird. I'm hoping things can calm down for my mental health and I can just do my stuff casually without a problem, but life isn't like that, is it?

Mizki and Gumi swept the floors together with their white rags held in their hands. Despite the mops being available, the girls were told to hand-clean with rags only, with the excuse that it’ll help them dance better. Gumi, who had more strength, wiped the floors and ran as far as her legs could take her, or until she hit the walls with her head. Mizki, with very little strength, couldn’t catch up as fast as she wanted to, but whenever she looked up, Gumi would smile at her, and it was enough for Mizki to keep going for a little bit more. By the wall of the hallway, the girls prepared to wipe down the floor one last time and ran ahead. Naturally, Gumi ran faster and reached the end, but Mizki stopped midway, as she grew tired and needed to rest. Gumi noticed and did what she thought was best.

“Keep it up, Mizki!” Gumi cheered for the girl, and Mizki simply stared at Gumi. She kept yelling random cheers, and Mizki couldn’t keep from smiling. Feeling Gumi’s energy, Mizki found the strength to go a bit further, finally catching up to Gumi. Reaching the end, Mizki sat down to get a deep breath.

“I don’t think I can keep going with this,” Mizki confessed. “I’m so tired.” At this point, they had finished up with the third floor, and they had to go through another floor. 

“We can sit for a little bit,” Gumi said. “Though we can’t rest too long, then the devil will scold us.”

“Devil? Her?” Mizki knew who Gumi was talking about.

“Yeah,” Gumi answered. “We should keep going now.”

“I don’t think I can do more,” Mizki said softly.

“We can do it,” Gumi tried to cheer her up. “I’m there to do more work if you need to rest more.”

“Do you,” Mizki hesitated before saying more, “you… do you think having someone like me is a bother?”

“What?” Gumi replied. “I don’t think like that.” 

“What are you saying?” Gumi asked. “I don’t think like that.”

“You don’t have to be nice,” Mizki told her. “I’m not pretty… and my friends yell at me if I mess up,” Mizki admitted. Even though she knew he meant well, sometimes Piko can lose his temper and Mizi would be there at the worst times.

“Eh, what?” Gumi was taken aback. “Mizki, you are cute,” she told her. “And you need better friends. Actually, it seems you worry too much about them and not about yourself. You need more confidence,” Gumi continued to speak. “You have lots of good talents.”

“Really?” Mizki asked. “Like what?”

“You’re smart,” Gumi began to answer. “You have As in most classes. You are nice to everyone… oh! Your manga drawings! They’re fantastic!”

“Really?” It had been too long since anyone told her about her art. Gakupo had once suggested she joined the art club, but Mizki was not only too timid to join but she knew her mother would be against it.

“Yes! Really!” Gumi smiled. “Want to show me later?” Mizki, while taken aback, thought for a few seconds.

“Would… would you be my friend then?”

“What? Of course!” Gumi smiled. Mizki looked at her and her grin grew large.

“Thank you.”

“We must finish this,” Gumi said as she stood up, and Mizki followed. They went down the stairs to the second floor in the building, and they walked to the end of the hallway. Squatting to the floor, the two prepared to clean with their rags, and they raced to the other side. Nearby, Kiyoteru was walking to the office when he heard them. He glanced back and saw the two young girls cleaning with only their dirtied rags. Recognizing them as Miu’s students, Kiyoteru gaped before he resumed his way to the office. 

xxx 

“She made them wipe the floors?”

“Yes,” Kiyoteru answered as Akiko sighed. Meiko and Luka kept to themselves, seemingly uncaring of what was happening, Yamato looked concerned, and Mirai made a face, as if she felt this was one of the worst things she was hearing.

“That’s not good,” Yamato muttered.

“I’m worried about her giving out all of these punishments,” Akiko sighed in frustration. “If the guardians find out...” 

“How should we deal with this?” Kiyoteru questioned. “Her whole class appears to be worried or afraid whenever I look at them.”

“Speaking of which,” Mirai spoke. “Back at that assembly, she had a pocket knife and pointed it at my throat,” she recalled while her fingers tenderly touched her neck. “Do you think she scares the kids with it?”

“I will speak to her about this,” Akiko said firmly. At this point, enough was enough for her. Akiko already didn’t like her from before she came to the school, and now she was at her boiling point. Miu needed to behave appropriately. Even Mayuko convincing all the parents things were fine didn’t satisfy Akiko. 

At that point, Miu entered the room, and before Akiko could come to her, Ueki had followed the strict teacher inside.

“Now about those kids sweeping the hallway,” Ueki was saying to Miu, and he wasn’t quiet, thus allowing the others to hear Miu’s response. “You say it’s training?”

Training? This threw the other teachers off guard. How was having two girls clean the floors with only rags training?

“Yes,” Miu answered as she sat herself down. She pulled her laptop out as she continued speaking. “One of the girls is falling behind in our practice, and I realize she doesn’t dance much, so I’m having her clean. The other child is so she won’t feel alone.”

“Oh, how clever!” Ueki said, believing her. “I was worried that you were punishing the kids for misbehaving with physical labor, but you do have a good heart.”

“Excuse me,” Akiko entered the conversation herself. “Even if it’s training for whatever you call it, don’t you think it’s too much?”

“Akiko, please,” Ueki stopped her.

“But sir-”

“Haven’t you seen the reports lately?” He asked. “Not just with how she effortlessly calmed the angry parents that day and reassured them everything is fine, but the grades are improving so well! It’s only been a few weeks, but I saw the grades comparing the first test to the third, and so few kids are below standard now!”

“Really?” Akiko was sceptical, but she realized Ueki could only speak the truth.

“This week, only one student has gotten a really poor score this week, but knowing their parent is aware of what’s going on, I believe that child will be better and better in due time,” with a gleeful grin, Ueki walked on. “Also, Akiko, I do need your help now.”

“What?”

“Let’s go.”

Ueki stood by the doorway, and he looked at her. Realizing she had no choice, Akiko sighed as she walked towards him, eventually leaving the room with Ueki. Miu kept her attention to her laptop. Kiyoteru, realizing he’ll need to step in himself, came towards her. 

“You know,” he began to say, “Maybe you should give the students an easier time with the dance,” he suggested. “If the students return late, the guardians will worry,” he tried to reason with her.

“You said something to the vice-principal, didn’t you?” Miu asked without looking, leaving him to realize she figured it all out. 

“I don’t agree that you should punish the students in that way,” Kiyoteru answered.

“And?”

“Don’t you want your class to bond and connect with each other as well as with the other classes?” Kiyoteru continued to do his best to reason with her.

“Even if my class heard the performances of the other classes,” Miu began as she took notes for herself, not bothering to look up at her coworkers. “They will not think about becoming friendlier with them.” 

“Okay,” Mirai stood up at last and came towards the two. “But that knife you used at me! You don’t use it on the kids, do you? Especially not Ann, right?”

“You have a class full of students who don’t respect you,” Miu said as she finally looked from your laptop, “and you still worry about that girl more than your own class?”

“Look, I worry about her future and upbringing, and I don’t think your way of teaching is compatible for her.”

“But your way of teaching was better? When Ann was failing all her classes, you ignored the comments other teachers made, and lie on the official reports so it’d look like she was doing well?”

“Wha-” Mirai was taken aback. “What do you-”

“I’m tired of having the same discussions with you,” Miu told her firmly. “You’re an incompetent teacher. You seem to mistake being a teacher for being a friend to kids.”

“Miu, please,” Kiyoteru intervened, “I know Mirai is making a lot of mistakes. Just give her time-”

“Speaking for others when you need to worry about your students too,” Mirai said to him. “Even when there are dishonest kids in your classes, you don’t punish them. You suck up to them.”

“But I’m not like you,” he said. I have no intentions of pushing my thoughts onto my students. I simply love them just for being themselves and doing their best.”

At that moment, Akiko was returning to the room to pick up a book she had forgotten. After Kiyoteru spoke, Miu slammed her laptop shut, leaving everyone in the room to give their attention towards her way. The coworkers, Yamato, Luka, and even Mirai, noticed the intense look Miu was giving. 

“Loving and spoiling are very different,” she coldly told him. “Fourteen year old children, soon to turn fifteen, are developing beings. What will spoiling and flattering them do? Kids that grow up without getting punished will cause problems when they enter society as an adult. Schools exist to make sure that does not happen.” Miu stood up from her seat, and as she packed, she continued talking. “That is why I punish those who violate rules and refuse to reflect on their actions. I don’t care if a student quits school. It is better if students with bad influences don’t come.” Concluding her word, Miu took her bag and walked away. The teachers stood still, taking in her words, and Akiko wound up forgetting what she was picking up.

xxx 

It was when the sun was setting when Gumi and Mizki finished cleaning at last. Their gym clothes were swapped out in the locker rooms and as they changed back into their regular uniforms, an idea hit Gumi.

“Let’s relax at the karaoke palace!”

“Karaoke?” Mizki asked. “Isn’t it for adults only though?”

“Nope,” Gumi said. “I have friends who work there. They’ll give us a room.”

“Friends?” Mizki became puzzled. Who exactly was Gumi friends with? Gumi knew older people? Wasn’t it frowned upon for a young teenager to be friends with older people? “Who are they? How did you meet them?”

“They saved me in a rainstorm two years ago,” Gumi confessed. “I was out. I slipped and fell in a river.”

“What.” It wasn’t a question, but more of a statement of shock. Mizki didn’t expect to hear this. She wasn’t sure if she should ask more, but a thought came to Gumi.

“I need to get my textbook. I forgot about it,” Gumi recalled. Checking to see if she was fully dressed, she grabbed her bag filled with her gym clothes and ran out of the locker room. Gumi walked up the stairs, heading to the third floor where her classroom was, and upon reaching the top of the stairs, she stopped after seeing her friend nearby.

“Kokone?”

“Gumi?”

“You’re still here?”

“I was studying and doing my homework in the library all afternoon,” Kokone explained. “Did you just finish cleaning?”

“Yeah,” she answered.

“Gumi, why did you do it?”

“What?”

“Why did you defend her?”

“Because I didn’t like the way Miu talked to her,” Gumi answered, and she went on her way to the classroom. Kokone followed behind her.

“I understand wanting to stand up to her, but please, it’s enough.”

“What is?” Gumi asked and the two had made it to the room.

“Stop defying our teacher.”

“I’m not,” Gumi said as she went to her desk and grabbed a book out. “I’m telling her what she’s doing is wrong.”

“That…” Kokone wanted to finish that, to point out that in a way, it was defiance Gumi was giving, but Gumi said something.

“Are you free? I want to take Mizki to the karaoke place.” 

“Oh,” Kokone said. “Shouldn’t you focus on your homework? There’s a lot to do.”

“I’m fine,” Gumi smiled. “Let’s go! I’m going to take Mizki to see Miku!”

“You have fun,” Kokone sighed, and Gumi walked on. Seeing her friend disappear in the distance, Kokone stood still and wondered. She hoped that was the last time Gumi would speak against Miu. She didn’t want to see Gumi in any more trouble.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fixed version of chapter 22 I believe. Some new stuff is added, but otherwise, it's basically the same, I guess.


	21. Karaoke fun

The two girls arrived at the building, and Mizki entered in anticipation, curious to see exactly who Miku was. Perhaps, Miku was the one who saved Gumi that day? During the walk there, Gumi would speak nonstop on nonsensical things, topics ranging from basketballs to fantasy words to the idea of living in a world where all is happy. Then came the polite yet intrusive questions.

“I heard your mom owns a store?”

“Ah.. yeah, my mom owns a shop.”

“What does your dad do?”

“Uh…”

“Oh, no dad?” Gumi asked.

“Yeah,” Mizki said shyly.

“Oh okay,” Gumi smiled. “So it’s just you and your mom.”

“I guess.”

“You guess? Hm… does your mom not interact with you much or otherwise behave in a way where it feels like you are alone and have no adult to consult?”

Did she really ask that? Mizki was taken aback. Gumi sounded sophisticated when she asked, to a point where it felt like Mizki was talking to someone different. Gumi, very often, came off as that cheerful girl who seemed to be too much of a ditz, but it seemed Miura really exposed a different side of Gumi lately. It first began when Gumi stood up for Len, and Mizki knew no one expected it. With how frightening their teacher was that day, their classmates were too frightened to say anything. Then Gumi stood up for Mizki, something the dark haired girl never expected. Her friends would not have done such a thing for her, especially with how sinister Miu showed herself to be, so for Gumi, who was only an acquaintance, to do so, it just threw Mizki off guard.

“... Mizki? Hello?” 

She zoned out. Mizki realized she was lost in her own world when Gumi asked her that question.

“Sorry,” Mizki said. “Yeah… I don’t really talk to my mom so much.”

“Oh, same,” Gumi answered. “I don’t talk to my parents so much.”

“Really?” As Mizki got to know her, she realized Gumi wasn’t what she was expecting at all. A cheerful girl, one who seemed to live without a care in the world, is also a girl with the guts to stand up to the devil while possibly not having a typical, happy home life too. 

“Yeah,” Gumi answered. “It’s much better like that, especially since I can just talk to Miku and Leon instead.”

“They’re who we’re seeing?”

“Yeah! I really enjoy their company.”

It seemed to be like that, Mizki was thinking. If they were the ones who saved her from Gumi, then of course she would enjoy being near them as a result. So Mizki grew curiouser about them. Who are these people that found Gumi in a river?

And Mizki wondered, what happened that led to that point? An accident?

xxx 

When she first met her, Mizki wasn’t sure what to expect, but she didn’t think Miku would be this beautiful woman with a modest yet strong aura around her. Her hair, so long, was kept in low pigtails, which left Mizki puzzled as she had never seen an adult who wore their hair in the childish pigtail hair fashion. The look Miku gave with her eyes gave off as a person who had experienced so much in her life, yet she wasn’t giving up. 

Mizki wanted to ask so many questions while Gumi entertained herself with a song. Her fingers twiddled, and she held her breath, thinking of what to say. In the end, she was too timid and allowed Miku to do the talking.

“What do you do for fun?”

“Um… I draw.”

“Drawing? Do you have a sketchbook?”

“Oh, yes,” Mizki said as she slowly grabbed her artbook out from her back. She was nervous still, as this was an adult she was unfamiliar with, but she realized, if Gumi was comfortable around Miku, then Mizki was most likely safe. Mizki handed the book to Miku, who opened it with a smile.

“Wow,” she said. “You’re so talented. I can see you put so much detail on this.”

Mizki could feel her face growing warmer. No one really said anything about her art, except Piko and Gakupo, if they were in the mood for it, and maybe Miki two years ago, so Miku complimenting her left Mizki speechless. By then, Gumi was done singing and sat down by Miku, looking over her shoulder and seeing the art.

“Oh,” Gumi noticed one of the drawings in the book as Miku turned to the next page. “That’s Hana!” Gumi gaped at Mizki’s art, a drawing of a familiar girl with a serious face as she read a book. Her features and the super light shade of her hair was enough for Gumi to figure out who she was.

“Hana?” Miku asked. “Who’s Hana?”

“Hana is this girl in our class,” Gumi explained. “She gets the best grades very easily and she reads all the time in class.” Gumi looked over to view Mizki. “You draw her. Do you like her?”

“Well…” Mizki didn’t know how to explain it, but ever since Flower stood up for SeeU that day, Mizki began to admire her, so she dedicated a few days to drawing a portrait of Flower. “I think I just want to be closer to her.”

“Oh? Me too!”

“Huh?”

Mizki smiled, realizing she wasn’t alone in feeling that way as Gumi explained to her.

“I want to learn more about her too.”

“I’m going to sing now,” Miku said at last while standing up, and as Miku went out briefly, singing in front of them, Gumi offered an idea to Mizki.

“How about every day after school, I review the dance with you and help you get better at it every day?’

“Really?” Mizki was taken aback, but as she was convinced that Gumi was a person who can help her and be a friend for her, Mizki accepted the deal. “I would love that.”

xxx 

That night, in another part of the city, a girl sat quietly in her bedroom in an apartment she lived in. Her room was decorated with many plants and many books, and she sat quietly by her desk as she finished the novel she began to read only a few days ago. She glanced at the time and realized it was time for her to prepare to sleep. As she placed a different book in her bag, she remembered the events that happened that day.

Gumi stood up against Miu. Again. Flower didn’t expect it, but she knew that no one did at all. Flower never expected this behavior from Gumi. When she had first met her, Flower only saw a girl who acted idiotic and clueless, seemingly being the ditzy airhead in the classroom, but in the past few days, Flower began to see a different side of Gumi, little by little. Who exactly was Gumi, Flower wandered. Gumi stood up against Miu that day, and Flower wandered if she was trying to be like her when Flower stood up for SeeU a week before, but it didn’t explain Gumi’s sudden silence when SeeU made that comment regarding parents, the comment on how parents not liking their kids didn’t exist. Flower wouldn’t be hard on SeeU for that, believing SeeU was just innocent and unaware of how cruel the world is. 

But Gumi possibly knew how cruel the world could be? Gumi possibly didn’t get along with her parents? Gumi seems to know what’s up? Flower kept wondering so many thoughts, and then she remembered Gumi asked about SeeU, why Flower did that for SeeU, and honestly, Flower didn’t know the full answer to it. 

It had happened on a whim, but when she saw SeeU struggling like she did, Flower felt she needed to stand up for her and speak against Miu. Although Flower agreed with many things she had said and enforced in the room, Flower didn’t agree that time. SeeU just needed to go for two minutes, it wouldn’t be that long, but Miu’s refusal, followed by the ultimatum in having SeeU abandon her test was enough for Flower to speak up, but this ultimately showed the entire class to never speak against Miu. 

Flower dropped her bag, realizing she was thinking about Gumi with such a passion that she sighed. Flower wanted to be with no one. She didn’t want a friend. She didn’t want anyone close to her again after what happened that day years ago. Flower sighed as she went to her bed, putting herself in the blankets and switching the lights off. Her last sight that night was the framed photo, covered in dust, that lay near her: a photo of her with another girl when the two were young, happy girls in elementary school. 

xxx 

"One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight!" Counting so cheerfully, Gumi recited the dance Miu taught. Mizki, standing next to her, watched carefully and tried to note it all in her head. Every other number, Gumi clapped to the sky. As she counted on, she spun around. Finally, Gumi caught Mizki's lost look and stood straight.

"One, two, three, four, five, six, on six, extend your arms up and clap," she explained. Mizki nodded. Gumi recounted, "one, two, three, four, five, six," and on six, Mizki clapped to the sky, exactly what Gumi told her to do. Unlike her performances in school where she was unsure and lacking energy, Mizki performed the little move with great energy and confidence, as if she knew what she was doing at last. Smiling, Gumi continued, telling Mizki what to do next.  
The days kept going, and Gumi and Mizki continued to practice together after school in many different kinds of places. They even practiced during their walks to school, uncaring that other students who passed by would glance in curiosity or began to walk further away or placed their headphones on. 

"No, no," Gumi said when Mizki made a mistake. "Extend your arms out in the opposite direction, okay?" Mizki nodded. "One, two, three, four," Gumi began to count again. She and Mizki practiced their arm movements as they walked to school.  
From behind them, Kokone sighed. She knew Gumi wanted to do this. Gumi wanted to help out a classmate who was in trouble, and maybe, Kokone thought, it would do the class a huge favor. Miu kept lecturing Mizki and putting her down during practice, but Mizki would only nod, knowing better than to say anything else. Compared to the first few days, though, Mizki was definitely getting better.

However, it’s costing so much for Gumi. Her practices for basketball were being ignored. Her homework assignments were missing answers, which led her to be scolded by Miu while other teachers wondered what was happening, as this was unusual for Gumi. Even more, Kokone could tell that Gumi was missing her sleep over this. Kokone was ready to say something, but seeing the determination Gumi had when she aided Mizki was enough for Kokone to step away. She knew Gumi wouldn’t listen.

Another morning came, and despite the rain falling down on them, the girls continued to dance without a care.

“Jump!” Gumi cheered.

“Jump!” Mizki mimicked, and when they jumped on the puddles, they giggled. For them, the rain was washing away their worries and fears. They were determined to keep practicing, and with each session, Mizki was getting better and better. The girls continued their bonding as they danced more and more together, even meeting up during the weekend. They danced all afternoon, and then danced again all night. 

Kokone went over to see them, learning they were practicing at the park, and as she watched them together, she couldn’t help but feel a sense of loneliness. Maybe it was because she was with Gumi for so much of her life that the idea of Gumi being with someone else who wasn’t her or Len or Rin didn’t feel right to Kokone. At the same time, Mizki is a nice girl, so she should be okay with it, or so she hoped.

xxx

As a new week began, it meant a repeat of taking the test of the week to determine everyone’s fate. Len, as he did the second week of school, ditched the testing time, thus he already earned himself a spot as a rep. Everyone else took their exams seriously, and by the time it ended, Len returned to the room, and Miu had graded the papers. Before she announced the names of the students who scored the highest, Miu looked at Gumi and walked towards her, stopping when she was in front of her desk. 

“If you apologize to me for disobeying me,” Miu began to tell her, “I will forgive you and not have you do the chores this week.” The students turned towards Gumi, the expectations mixed all over the place, but Gumi’s response met no one’s expectations.

“I’ll pass.”

A small smile came to her face before Miu replied, “Okay, please take care of the chores this week too.” As Miu turned to go back to her podium, the students stared and whispered in disbelief. This was her opportunity to no longer be a rep, and Gumi refused.

“Is she okay?”  
“Is she out of her mind?”  
“Does she want to stay defiant for the rest of the school year?”

Gumi could hear their quick gossip, but she didn’t care. If the circumstances were different, she probably would have apologized, but Miu was the one who exposed Len’s secret without his approval, as well as she was the one who made Mizki miserable by humiliating her for not being good enough in dance. She wasn’t willing or open to blindly obeying someone like that. The chats surrounding Gumi died as Miu spoke once more. 

“Miss Jody, you should thank Gumi,” Miu said, looking directly at Ann, “because if she apologized, you would have taken her place as you once again scored the worst among the class.” Ann’s face turned red, not only from embarrassment, but from anger as well. At this point, it seemed like Miu was doing this on purpose, intentionally humiliating Ann as to remind everyone every week, ‘yes, she’s an idol, but she’s bad at school.’ Because of this, word spread like wildfire, and on top of her being forced to put her job on hold, students who study her like she’s a bug were putting two and two together.

“She’s putting her job on hold because she’s doing bad at school.”

“Now for the students who scored the best,” Miu continued. “Harukaze Flower.” Flower stood up in response as she went to grab her test. Before handing the paper to her, Miu said to her, “And you still haven’t been given back your privileges.”

“You never said I can have them again,” Flower pointed out.

“That’s true,” Miu smiled. “If you write a letter of apology to me for how you behaved before, I’ll give you back the rights to use those lockers and much more.” Flower didn’t say anything while Miu handed the paper back to her. Other students had overheard this, but they kept quiet as Miu called out the next names. “Zhiyu Moke. Kizuna Akari.” The two students stood up to grab their tests. “Utatane Piko.” As Piko stood up next to get his paper, Kokone readied herself to stand up, expecting her name to be called next.

“Kim Dahee.” Kokone, as well as many others in the room sat quietly with their eyes widening, and based on SeeU’s reaction, it seemed even she didn’t expect to be called. She was within the top five students who scored the highest, and SeeU was at a loss. She stood up and walked up to Miu, who didn’t give the test back right away. “Having a zero two weeks ago, and now you are in the top… what a good job.”

What was this, SeeU wondered. It seemed like the devil was praising her, and it wasn’t in a taunting or mocking tone either. It felt like genuine praise, and SeeU wasn’t sure how to react. At that same time, Kokone clenched her fist as she wasn’t pleased to see someone else did better than her. When SeeU received her paper, she glanced at Kokone, as she also had expected Kokone’s name to be called, and SeeU felt bad as she saw Kokone’s displeased face. Through all of this, Ann remained pouting, but it was now due to the fact that her own friend was doing so well while she was under a wave of stress and trouble.


	22. Did I do well

Ann came home quietly, but her mother, Lola, had stood by the door, waiting patiently for her to return. When she saw her, Ann held her breath, knowing her mother wanted the paper.

“Mom…”

“What’s your grade?”

“It’s…”

“Give it to me,” Lola said coldly. This wasn’t the woman Ann knew. This woman was frightening in a way where Lola was onto Ann daily. She was always checking Ann’s homework, and if she noticed a mistake, Lola gave the book back to Ann and told her to fix it. Lola never tried to help Ann once.

“You don’t want to see,” Ann said. “I’m fine. I don’t think you need to see.”

“Give it to me,” Lola said again, and Ann realized she had no choice. She placed her bag down on the nearby table and opened it, retrieving the paper and giving it to Lola with a huff.

“What… a 36…,” Lola sighed. “I guess this is better than last week, but why are you still failing?”

“Hmm…” Ann didn’t know what to tell her. Lola was so relaxed and allowed Ann to do what made her happy, and now suddenly it wasn’t okay. Lola didn’t bother to ask Ann to tell her these things, and now Lola wanted to know every detail, and Ann wasn’t enjoying any of it.

“Is dance distracting for you?” Lola asked. “Should I keep you home from dance so you can study better?”

“Will that make you happy?” Ann asked. “To take away everything I love so I can cry while studying?”

“Ann, you never had grades like this when you were in elementary school.”

“Okay, but I’m not a child anymore! I’m fourteen!”

“Ann, I trusted you! I asked you to do one thing when I gave you freedom, and it was to keep your grades up! You lied to me!”

“Because Cul said she’d take care of it!”

“She lied to me too!”

“Mom, please! I’ll study, I’ll get my friends to help me study! I’ll do my best for the festival on Saturday! Please!” Ann began to break in front of her mother, and Lola sighed, realizing how desperate Ann became. 

“I can give back your phone,” Lola said, “but the deal remains. Keep your grades up, and we can get you back to your job in September.”

“Yes… thank you.”

xxx 

Three boys sat together in a diner for dinner. Feeling it would be nice to eat out while also studying, they got together. Gakupo had also invited Mizki, but she declined, stating she would continue to practice the dance with Gumi.

“What does Mizki see in her?” Piko asked. “Gumi just seems to be that type of person who wants to be foolish and now she’s being openly defiant to our teacher like this.”

“I think it’s great that at least someone’s speaking out against the injustices the devil has implanted to us,” Kaito added his opinion, which Piko didn’t want. 

“Of course you say that,” Piko said coldly. “To you, she’s the devil only because she got Ann in trouble with her mom.”

“Don’t you think it’s cruel of her to tell Ann’s mother to control every aspect of her life now?”

“Kaito, if this was a different situation, I would say it’s bad parenting,” Piko began to tell him. “But Ann’s mother was far too lenient with her until now. She kept missing school. She kept disrupting classes. All Miu did was put Ann in her place, and that mother-teacher meeting that you guys thought was a great idea just allowed Miu to tell Ann’s mother exactly what was going on. Now Ann has no choice but to behave.”

“Behave? But she wasn’t hurting anyone,” Kaito said with his tone of voice getting louder, and Gakupo sighed. 

“Boys, enough. I don’t want to get kicked out of another cafe because you two can’t stop bickering.”

“Fine,” Piko sighed, and Kaito grabbed his phone to distract himself.

“Also, Gumi has been really helping Mizki,” Gakupo pointed out. “She decided to help Mizki improve her dancing so she won’t be scolded so much by Ms.Miura, and it’s working. Ms. Miura isn’t saying anything anymore.” 

“I guess,” Piko sighed. “Yeah, Mizki is getting better at dancing to this stupid song.”

“And Mizki is smiling so much more now.”

“Oh, you noticed that too.” 

“Ann got her phone back,” Kaito cheered, uncaring that he interrupted his friends’ conversation.

“Kaito, I don’t care,” Piko sighed.

“But she has to get a good grade next week,” Kaito sulked. “She told me now in messaging. Her mom is being so mean…”

“About time her mom did something,” Piko whispered coldly under his breath so Kaito wouldn’t hear.

“I feel as long as Mizki is happy,” Gakupo kept talking, pretending he didn’t hear Kaito, “then we don’t have to worry so much. I feel Gumi is a good person, and after the festival ends, we can spend time with Mizki and things will be back to normal.” Gakupo had sincerely thought so, unaware that normalcy wouldn’t come back.

xxx 

The next few days remained consistent, with Gumi and Mizki continuing to dance together whenever possible. After their class practice, the girls remained at the school yard to revisit the moves given to them and practiced it as much as possible. After dinner, they met up and kept practicing in the parks, uncaring if people walked by and stared at them with curiosity. Mizki was at first wary of practicing in public, but with Gumi’s cheerful energy and attitude, Mizki was able to brush off the glances as she focused on her dancing and improving each move. 

“Len, doesn’t Gumi help you out with chores?” Kokone asked him one day during their lunch break.

“She did for a little bit, but I told her to go ahead and help Mizki practice,” Len answered.

“You… you told her to ditch you?”

“Hey, you’re making it sound worse than it is,” Len smiled. “I said I’ll do the work so Gumi can help out Mizki.”

“Len, what about Gumi’s grades? Her activities?”

“Hey,” Len sighed. “It’s Gumi’s choice. I’m not telling her to do this or that. Plus, it’s a good thing she’s helping Mizki. Now the devil yells less and less at Mizki.”

“I guess,” Kokone sighed. “But how far can Gumi go?”

xxx

To help convince her mother that she could improve and do well without needing anymore of the things she loved taken away from her, Ann would spend her days after school studying with One, Maki, and SeeU. They’d either go to the library or spend time in One’s home and they’d study and quiz each other before it was time to head out and attend their dance classes in the city. Afterwards, Ann came home with her homework more complete and less confusing.

Ann would also perform dances in front of her mother, thinking it would brighten Lola’s mood and convince her that Ann is fine and can return to modeling sooner than planned.

“What a good dance,” Lola said on one of those days. “And you’re getting better with your homework.”

“So do you think I can model now?” Ann asked eagerly.

“Oh, Ann,” Lola laughed. “Modeling can wait. School is more important.”

Ann’s smile fell as she heard her mother dismiss it.

“But mom-”

“Ann, I said what I said,” Lola told her. “Besides, this is a good opportunity to live life as a normal teenage girl.”

“What?”

“Don’t you want to go out and play with your friends more often? Or go to the movies or karaoke? When you were modeling, you missed so much school, so now you can really enjoy school more,” Lola explained.

“Fine,” Ann sighed, realizing her mother wasn’t going to change her mind.

xxx 

Break time came during the typical school day one afternoon, and Gumi was given a task of throwing out the garbage. She walked through the courtyard where many kids were playing their games, sitting in solitude, or talking walks with their friends. After reaching the disposals, she threw out the garbage and proceeded to head back when she spotted Mizki sitting quietly near the plants. With a smile, Gumi ran towards her and dropped to the floor the moment she came near.

“What are you drawing?” Gumi asked, curious to what sketch Mizki was creating, and at first hesitant, Mizki smiled and held the sketchbook up higher for Gumi to see. She noticed a girl with hair short like Gumi’s and glasses resting on her nose. “Is that me?” Gumi asked as she noticed the features strongly resembling hers. Mizki nodded, and Gumi’s smile grew even bigger. It seemed the short time spent was enough for them to grow fond of each other and wanting to hang out more and more. 

When Gumi got up to leave, Mizki finished her sketch and wrote a small note on the bottom: “my best friend!!”

xxx

The last night before they were to be judged in front of their teacher in a dance, Ann had gone back to her mother while SeeU, Maki, and One went to a private studio at night with the intent to chill and practice together. After they practiced the dance for the school, One and Maki sat down and glanced at their phone while SeeU put on a more happier song, a popular Korean song to ease her mind as she danced along. 

With a smile, Maki recorded SeeU while One sighed.

“Something bothering you?” Maki asked. She ended the recording so their conversation wouldn’t be caught.

“I just hope Ann’s mother can cool down after this,” One sighed. “It’s like she’s gotten worse than my mom.”

“Yeah," Maki sighed. SeeU finished dancing at this point, with Maki calling to her. “Isn’t it better to dance to that than the boring crap we have to do for school?”

“Yeah,” SeeU smiled. “I wish we could dance to more songs like this.”

“Same,” Maki said. “Is your mom still onto you after that meeting?”

“Yeah,” SeeU sighed. “Although it’s not as bad as the first day.”

“Every day, my mom tells me I have to get the best grades to go to an elite school,” One complained. “Telling me I have to succeed like my sister, but I’m nothing like my sister.”

“Same, my mom keeps telling me to be more like my sister. It’s annoying,” SeeU sighed. “My sister finds this annoying too.”

“Guess it’s good I don’t have siblings,” Maki commented. “Although Ann is an only child, and she’s miserable about now.”

“It’s all the devil’s fault,” One sighed, and SeeU nodded. After that day, life went further downhill.

xxx 

At the same time in a park, Gumi and Mizki were reviewing the dance together once more. They hopped. They clapped. They created arm circles. Every move they learned at school, the girls portrayed it with ease at the park. The two finished the dance together, and their energy had vanished briefly. They catched their breaths for a few seconds before looking at each other.

"Did you get it?" Gumi asked.

"I got it!" Mizki answered.

"Did I get it?" Gumi pointed to herself.

"You got it!" Mizki smiled. Quickly, the two cheered. They did it. Mizki was finally able to dance to the song with little issue. The hard work the two did together had paid off, and they couldn’t be happier. Gumi and Mizki embraced each other.

Kokone watched from the distance, but unlike the two girls who were smiling and cheering, Kokone was frowning. She hoped that after this, things can go back to normal, and she can spend her afternoons with Gumi again. 

xxx

Just one more day before the festival occurred. Miu watched all the students dance in harmony. All the students were dancing to their full potential, although their goals differ. Some danced for the sake of being able to impress their parents on the day of the festival. Others danced just so their teacher wouldn’t scold them or humiliate them. Others just wanted to get it over it. A good portion danced because they wanted to be rewarded. Miura did promise to give the student who performed the best a reward.

As they danced, they aimed to do as little mistakes as possible. They danced the best they could and kept focus, aiming to impress Miu and have her not say anything cruel to them. By time the song ended, the students performed their final move and their breaths echoed in the gym. Their faces were read from the exercise they endured and they looked at her. Miura stood in front of them, her eyes looking at every student before she walked towards Mizki. Miu looked deeply into her, and Mizki, along with a few students, wondered. Perhaps, Miu would apologize for her rude words to her. Maybe she’d praise her. Mizki smiled briefly, expecting good words or praise from her teacher.

“Sakurada Mizki,” Miu began to talk to her. “You don’t have to show up to tomorrow’s ceremony.”

“Huh?” Mizki became puzzled. Did she do well? Was this a reward?”

"You will get in everyone's way," Mi told her, and before Mizki could react, she kept talking. "Your dancing is embarrassing. How about you pretend you caught a cold tomorrow?" Mizki’s grin dropped, and her blood became cold. Miu turned around and began to talk loudly. “Tomorrow, we will dance with thirty-one students. Make sure to bring your gym uniforms when you come to school.” The students were unsure how to take of this, but Gumi’s face became red with anger.

“Miss! Teacher! Wait!” Gumi cried out angrily, but Miu kept walking and ignored her. Gumi bit her cheeks while Mizki froze in her spot. She worked so hard, yet it was all in vain. Several students glanced at Mizki with pity while others sighed and began to walk out of the gym.


	23. Let's Do This

All the students had returned to the classroom, but rather than leaving right away for their clubs, sports, or other activities, they quietly reflected on what happened earlier. It seemed their teacher was a bit too cruel that time. It was clear and obvious to everyone. Mizki worked hard to perfect that dance, yet it wasn’t enough. Miu told her to skip and claimed Mizki’s dance was embarrassing. 

“Why do we even bother?” Len asked loudly and nonchalantly, interrupting the gloomy atmosphere. “We should just quit the stupid dance and not show up to the ceremony tomorrow. Everyone is so miserable now.” Gumi listened to Len’s words and it all sinked in.

“Let’s do that,” Gumi spoke up, agreeing with Len. Some heads turned to face Gumi, including Len’s. “Everyone, tomorrow, let’s boycott.” Everyone turned to Gumi and looked at each other.

“But,” Ann spoke up quietly. “Won’t we be screwed if we did that?” It wasn’t normal for Ann to say something like this, but after everything that happened the past four weeks, it wasn’t surprising for Ann to act hesitant for some people. 

“Yeah,” Maki spoke up. “My parents are coming tomorrow.” Maki herself was hesitant too. Miu had proven to be a strong opponent and threat for them, and Maki wasn’t sure if it was okay to talk back to her anymore.

“Is it okay to let Miu bully Mizki?” Gumi asked them. “Mizki worked so hard to nail that dance.”

“No one is happy doing that dance,” Len brought up. “Do you guys want to stay miserable?” A few students whisper among each other. From the other side of the room, Sora, Tianyi, and Iroha were discussing the idea of a boycott. In the back of the room, Ann, SeeU, Maki, and One talk it over. Near the front, Kyo, Wil, and Yu ask Ken and Roro for their opinions. After several seconds, they slowly smiled and made up their minds.

“Let’s ditch this dance tomorrow,” One spoke up to her friends, and they all nodded.

“Let’s boycott,” Sora told her two friends.

“I’m not doing that dance,” Roro announced.

“Same,” Yu joined in. “Miu pisses me off.”

Many students spoke together in agreement. They had enough. One month of dealing with this was too much for them. Miu needed to stop with her ridiculous strict rules. During the chorus of agreements, Akari, one of the quiet ones in class, chose to voice her thoughts. 

“I don’t think this is a good idea at all.” The chatter died, and everyone turned to Akari.

“That’s because nerdy Akari is a teacher’s pet,” Iroha chanted.  
“She will do anything to make Miu happy,” Sora added.

“This is a bad idea though,” Haiyi spoke up. “Miu is going to find out and we’re all going to get in trouble.”

“Miu has proven that she can get everyone on her side,” Athena added. “She might find a way to make us look bad.” Yet everyone ignored them as Ann came towards Moke. 

“You’ll help out, right?” She asked. He looked at her, and Moke soon found himself the center of attention.

“Moke, you have to help.”  
“Miu will listen to you.”  
“Moke can distract Miu tomorrow.”

“Wait! Wait!” Moke attempted to calm everyone down, both the large majority that wish to boycott, and Piko spoke up along with Akari and Haiyi. 

“Moke, don’t give in to them!” Piko yelled. 

“We can get in trouble,” Akari said.

“Guys, please, be reasonable,” Haiyi cried.

“There are better ways to express our concerns,” Gakupo, also on the side of those against this, tried to reason, but he, along with the girls and Piko, were tuned out as their opinions were unfavorable.

“You don’t like Miu’s teaching, right?” Sora asked

“Well,” Moke wasn’t sure what to tell them. He didn’t agree with Miu always, but as she was the teacher, he felt his role was to simply obey her.

“You don’t agree with Miu’s teaching, right?” Maki questioned him.

“Well,” Moke sighed, knowing he needed to be honest. “Not really this past week.” Through the week, he had found class to be hard to tolerate, but he knew better than to say anything in front of her.

“Will you help us?” Kyo asked.

“You have the highest grades, so Miu will listen to you,” One reminded him.

“Miu likes obedient students too,” Kaito added.

“I don’t know,” Moke told his classmates while debating whether to help or not.

“Please?”  
“Help us!”

More than half the class cried and begged for Moke to help. He didn’t know what to say. Moke knew if they boycotted, Miu would most likely give them a severe punishment. Classmates Haiyi, Athena, Akari, Gakupo, and Piko were open about their thoughts on the boycott not being a bright idea, and Moke understood their concerns. At the same time, he knew the main intent, or what seemed to be the main intent, was to gain justice for Mizki, who Miu had treated very coldly for the past two weeks. The students were eager for revenge over this, and knowing they won’t back down, Moke sighed. 

“All right.” As they heard him say this, the students cheered and celebrated. Many embraced each other as they were eager to go through their boycotting plan.

“Let’s get revenge!”

“Let’s do it!”

“Guys, don’t be too loud. Miu might hear us!”

Among the happiness and cheers were still the pessimistic opinions of those against this. 

“I do not want to be part of this!” Piko yelled at them.

“Moke, this is a bad idea,” Akari went up to him and told him.

“Piko, does it not bother you that Miu bullies Mizki?” Kaito asked, forgetting every argument he ever had with the boy. “Mizki is your friend.”

Piko sighed and turned to Kaito. “Yes, it does bother me that Miu picks on Mizki, but a boycott won’t solve anything.”

“Plus,” Gakupo intervened. “We can be severely punished for this.”

“Nah,” Kaito said. “Miu can’t punish us if all of us stick together. In fact, it’ll show Miu that she needs to be nicer to us.”

“But…”

“Alright,” Moke announced, ignoring the students against this. “Here is the plan.” Hearing him, many students crowd around him. Akari and Piko could only sigh in defeat. Gakupo sat back down in his seat, knowing no one would listen to him. Haiyi and Athena packed up their books and left, knowing it was useless to speak up anymore. Moke spoke to the many students who wished to listen to him. Gumi, meanwhile, embraced Mizki who remained at her desk.

“Isn’t it great?” She smiled, and Mizki, with a wide grin, nodded eagerly. Knowing her classmates were doing it for her was enough to warm her heart. Gumi looked up and saw Flower picking up a book from the back. “Hana! Isn’t this great?” Flower glanced back at her briefly before ignoring her. She turned to her desk, and Gumi went and followed, hoping for a response. Flower placed the book inside her bag before she answered.

“I wonder if everyone can really stick with their plan tomorrow,” Flower told her. “You never know what happens until the moment comes.”

“Oh? What do you mean?” Gumi asked. “I’m sure everyone will follow tomorrow. Look at everyone,” Gumi explained, pointing at the excited classmates. “Look at how eager they are,” she told Flower.

“Nevermind then,” Flower answered in response. She realized it was better to let Gumi believe this could truly work before seeing herself what could happen. Although Flower wasn’t sure yet what the end result would be, she suspected something could go wrong. Closing her school bag, Flower grabbed the handle and left her desk. Gumi kept gazing at her, watching her leave the classroom without a word.

Among the commotion in the room, no one ever noticed Miki leaving the room.

xxx 

Taking one step out of the building, Mizki caught the sight of Gumi tripping over a hose, spilling a bucket filled with water all over her. Smiling and struggling to hold her laughter, Mizki walked up to her. Gumi helped herself to a sitting position when Mizki stopped right in front of her.

“I’ll see you tomorrow, Gumi,” Mizki cheerfully told her.

“Okay,” Gumi smiled. “Bye-bye!” She waved.

“Bye-bye!” Mizki responded and walked away. Len walked out afterwards, finding Gumi soaked from her accident with the hose.

“Gumi? You had a fight with the hose?” He teased.

“Yeah! So glad I’m doing these stupid chores in my gym clothes,” she told him and he laughed.

“I’ll take care of this then. Go dry yourself.” She nodded and walked back. Len went to refill the bucket, humming a happy tune until another girl came towards him.

“Len?” He heard her and looked up.

“Kokone! Aren’t you excited?”

“Hmm,” Kokone shrugged. “Do you think this could really work?”

“Of course,” Len told her. “Did you see how everyone behaved? They’re all mad now. Surely Miu will stop if she sees no one on the stage.”

“Len, don’t you think Miu would find out?” Kokone asked. “Not saying anyone is a snitch, but someone could tell her behind our backs.”

“Oh,” Len listened. “You’re not going to tell, right?”

“I’m not petty like that,” Kokone sighed. “But I feel someone might do so, and if that happens, this plan can backfire.”

“Kokone, please, just have faith and hope,” Len tried to reassure her. “Tomorrow, we’ll protest against Miu’s actions towards Mizki, and she’ll understand why we’re mad and back off on her rude attitude.” Kokone sighed, realizing Len wasn’t seeing her point of view, but she didn’t want to continue talking about it anymore.

“I hope things can go well,” Kokone said. “Honestly, I don’t want to boycott, but since Gumi is so eager, I may as well have no choice, but I’m still worried.”

“It’s fine,” Len smiled. “Everything will be fine.”

“If you say so,” Kokone told him, and she walked ahead, leaving Len to resume his work while she went home. She was worried. She wondered if they had forgotten exactly who they were up against. Miura was the same woman who convinced an entire mob of angry mothers that everything she did was fine and the students were lying or over exaggerating. If she could calm down at least twenty angry women, and if she could gather so much private information on each student, Kokone feared that one way or another, Miu would find out and stop the boycott before it could happen. 

xxx 

“I’m home!” SeeU called out as she stepped into her home. She slid her shoes off with her feet when she noticed an unfamiliar pair of shoes. She knelt down a bit and looked closer, only to recall where she had seen them before and realized who the owner was.

“Dahee!” Kasume called out. “Welcome home! Your teacher is here too! Say hello!” 

Why, SeeU wondered. Why would she come to her home? SeeU was puzzled, and she stepped inside, entering the living room where Miu was sitting quietly and with good posture.

“Um, hello, Miss Miura,” SeeU shyly greeted before bowing. Even though this was her home, SeeU knew she needed to be respectful as her mother would’ve scolded her if she didn’t.

“Also, you didn’t say anything about the festival,” Kasumi told her, and SeeU’s eyes widened. She never planned to tell as she felt her mother would put pressure on her to be the best in the group. 

“She has been so well,” Miu said, shocking SeeU with those words. “I’m sure you’ll be impressed when you see her tomorrow.” SeeU frozed when she heard her say it to her mother. “Now I must get going.”

“Oh, so soon?” Kasumi asked. “I guess you’re busy after all,” she smiled. “Thank you for visiting.” Miu bowed to her and she looked at SeeU.

“See you tomorrow.”

SeeU nodded in a rush and when Miu stepped further away, SeeU ran straight upstairs to her bedroom. Without a second thought, she grabbed her cell phone out of her bag and messaged her friends.

xxx 

Gumi came home without saying anything. She took off her shoes before she stepped inside, noticing her mother passed out on the floor. This was how life was like for Gumi for about four years. Her mother couldn’t collect herself while her father drowned himself in work. For Gumi, it was better for her parents to stay apart than to be in the same room together. Otherwise, a storm would explode in the neighborhood. 

Gumi went to her bedroom and took her phone out. She messaged Kokone with thoughts of how the next day would be, unaware of what was going on outside of her own little world…  
.  
.  
.  
.  
Mizki skipped merrily down the streets in the city. As the sun was setting, Mizki found herself twirling around in a daze. This was the happiest she had been. She found a friend who not only fought for her but was able to get everyone to help them out. Knowing they can finally get back at Miu for the torment she had given her for the past two weeks, Mizki twirled again. 

Nothing could ruin her happy mood…

Or so she thought.

“You look so happy, Miss Sakurada.”

Hearing Miu’s voice, Mizki paled and her movements ceased. She slowly turned behind her, and Mizki’s eyes met the cruel, taunting glares and smirks that Miu gave to her. Slowly, Miu stepped towards her, and Mizki remained frozen at her spot.

“Why are you so happy?”


	24. If She Looks At Her

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let's establish this now. I am terrible at updating. I have fortunately been keeping up with writing, but updating? ehhh I have four chapters up on the same day. So that's all up, and this is the end of another section of this long fanfic that I'm rewriting from years ago.  
> As of now, I'm done with ch32 (I think) but I don't know which chapter that was in the first take, since I'm combining chapters if they were short enough.
> 
> Weird that I feel I need to have chapters for this fic up a certain length, but for other fics, I'd write two pages and declare myself done, but then again, considering this is a long story, I guess I don't blame myself? Anyways...

The day had come at least, the day where parents arrived at school with their children to celebrate for the sake of the school. Despite it being a free day of fun, students were expected to be in uniform, but it didn’t stop Gumi from arriving in glee. It was the day the plan was to happen, when everyone would refuse to partake in the dance for the sake of Mizki and to make it clear that they are tired of the harsh rules Miura has set in place. 

Gumi ran up the stairs with a wide smile on her face. She kept jogging ahead, rushing to her classroom, but she slowed down when she noticed familiar girls ahead of her. Normally, she would ignore them as she didn’t like them, but she had a newfound goal of getting along with everyone in her class. Since Ann and her friends were in the same class, it meant Gumi would have to attempt to be nice. Despite this, it did not dampen Gumi’s good mood as she walked up towards them with the happiest voice she could give. 

"Good morning!"

Ann, with her friends, were surrounded by other students who were fond of her even after word spread about Ann’s sudden failed grades or her job being halted. When Gumi came by, Ann looked up once, and Gumi noticed the quick look she was given before Ann turned away and bowed.

“I need to head to class,” she said suddenly, and she ran off, never giving the students a proper farewell as well as abandoning them to be confused about what had happened. Gumi shrugged off Ann’s behavior and continued towards the three girls. 

“Hello!” She told One, Maki, and SeeU, and while the other kids walked away as there was no reason to stay there anymore, the three girls looked down, struggling to make eye contact with Gumi. “Is something wrong?” Gumi asked. Although she didn’t like Maki and One so much while thinking decently of SeeU due to her friendship with Len, she felt she should at least be courteous and look after them at that moment. After all, they were classmates and stuck under Miu’s rules.

“Oh it’s nothing,” Maki said suddenly. One looked up and forced a smile as well.

“Yeah, it’s nothing important,” One added. Right afterwards, One grabbed SeeU’s wrist and dragged her away, with Maki following behind. Gumi remained at her spot and watched as the girls left her. It was clear something had happened, and perhaps, Ann knew as well, but Gumi wasn’t sure what could have happened. Behind her, Mizki had come up the stairs, pausing when she noticed Gumi. With a gulp, Mizki took quiet steps, hoping to not be noticed. She walked by her, and it seemed she had succeeded in not being noticed.

“Mizki!”

Nevermind. Mizki froze as Gumi came towards her. She put on a smile before she looked up at her new friend.

“Good morning,” She tried to sound cheerful, but Gumi noticed how meek and quiet Mizki was being 

"What's wrong?" Gumi asked.

"Nothing," Mizki answered. It was clear to Gumi that something happened behind the scenes, but Gumi began to deny it, believing she was looking too deeply into it. Gumi smiled at Mizki, choosing to believe there was no concern.

"Let's hope the boycott goes well," Gumi said cheerfully. Mizki nodded and grinned. The two walk again, eventually entering the classroom. Inside, most students were chatting happily, creating a lively vibe. 

"Good morning everyone!" Gumi cheered. Immediately, all chatter ceased. Every student in the room stared at Gumi and Mizki. From the eerie silence, Gumi sensed quickly that something was very wrong, realizing her instinct from earlier was right all along. Somehow, it felt as if everyone knew something that Gumi did not know. 

"Good morning!" Len screamed as he entered the room. "What happened?" He asked as he noticed everyone's stares. It was clear to Gumi that Len was as oblivious as her. "No one here looks so good at all. Nervous about getting revenge on Miu?" Placing his bag on his desk, Len sat down and turned around. Moke sat behind him. "Anyways, we're relying on you," Len told him happily.

Right away, the bell rang. The students that were standing rush to an empty desk, and the students that were already sitting placed their books underneath their desk. In seconds, the students sat quietly until Miu entered the room. As she entered, Gumi began the normal, dull, morning routine.

"Stand." Everyone stands. "Bow" Everyone bows while greeting. "Sit." Everyone sits.

"Everyone," Miu spoke out to her class with her strict voice. "Let's show the audience how excellent the ninth graders in class 3 are by giving them the result of our practice." The class listened, and Gumi turned to Moke. "We'll be going to the gym now," Miu announced. "Please move quickly," she commanded. She left her podium, slowly walking to the door. The same time, Moke stood up from his desk. Some students kept their eye on him. He was the important part of the boycott. He just had to distract Miu. 

Grabbing his gym bag, he left his desk.

It seemed he had forgotten about the plan.

"Hey, wait," Len stood up and grabbed Moke. "Don't you have anything you want to ask?"

"Is that so, Zhiyu Moke?" Miura asked with a small, devious smile as she walked towards him. "If you have something to say, go ahead." Len was lightly punching his arm and smiling. Moke stood silent for seconds. Len anticipated the plan to work. Moke gave his word.

"No," he said quietly. "I have nothing to say."

Len's face fell and Gumi wondered if she heard Moke correctly. He walked forward.

"Wait," Len called out to him. He attempted to walk towards him, but Miu stepped in, blocking his way. The two made fierce eye contact. She refused to let him go past her. Angrily, Len began to shout, "Everyone, say something!" Silence remained. Gumi looked around. Everyone in the room would not say a word.

"Who wants to say something?" Miu announced. Again, no one said a single word.

"No way!" Len was shocked by his class's behavior, and Gumi realized at that point, the plan wasn’t going to happen. "Didn't we agree yesterday that we won't do this stupid dance!?" Len yelled.

"Are you sure you're not the only one thinking that?" Miu asked. Len stared at her angrily. Behind him, Gumi was too stunned to have said anything, but she quickly found her energy. Len was not alone.

"I was thinking that too," she said quietly while standing. For a few seconds, Miu stared at her before she asked again.

"Anyone else?"

Nobody muttered a single word.

"What happened!?" Len shouted. Even Gumi wondered the same thing. Just yesterday, nearly everyone was so excited about ditching the dance. She looked around, but she only noticed students keeping their glances away, as if they were ashamed to be seen by Gumi. 

"You kids," Miu announced sternly. "Plotting a boycott? You should be ashamed of yourselves." Gumi and Len listened while recovering from their shock. "As punishment, you two will not appear in the event. You will stay here and reflect on your actions, and I will have you clean the gym after the ceremony is over." After her stern lecture to the two, she smiled.

"Now, everyone, shall we go?"

Everyone but Len and Gumi sat silently. Then, in a few seconds, they all grabbed their gym bags and stood up.

"Hey, don't you remember what we decided on yesterday?" Len grabbed Yu and asked him. Saying nothing, Yu kept on walking. "Didn't we make a promise?" Len questioned Roro as he walked by. Miu stared for a second before she left the room, giving a triumphant smile. Kokone had just stood up when Gumi grabbed her.

"This is cruel!" Gumi told her. "Why?" Kokone looked at her, realizing she did owe her friend an explanation. 

"My parents came. They wanted to see me dance. I can't disappoint them… I’m sorry." Turning her head away. Kokone walked out of the room. Ann walked by Gumi, trying to avoid her. One tried to do the same, but Gumi grabbed her.

"Didn't we agree that we wouldn't do this dance?" She asked her. One turned to her, knowing she had to answer.

"If you think about it, getting in trouble just because of you two is a little bit…" One told her and didn't need to finish. Behind her, Maki and SeeU nodded.

"I thought the boycott was just a joke," Maki added. Quickly, she and One ran off. SeeU tried to follow, but Gumi grabbed her next.

"We were doing this for Mizki!" she told her. "Did you think this was a joke too?" Seeing the tearful look in Gumi's eyes, SeeU felt bad and answered her excuse with honesty.

"Yesterday, Miu came to my house," SeeU told her. "She personally invited my mother to come to the ceremony. No matter how much I wanted to ditch the dance, I knew I would get in huge trouble with my mom if I was not there." Gumi stared at her, the words slowly coming into her head. "I'm sorry." 

Turning away, SeeU walked out of the classroom. At that point, Gumi began to be suspicious and realized that somehow, Miu knew about the boycott. Miu knew what they were going to do and placed an end to it without Gumi and Len knowing. 

Only Gumi, Len, and Mizki were left in the room. Gumi and Len stood, staring at the door. Both couldn't believe the plan failed horribly. Mizki, however, sat quietly, recalling her conversation with Miu the previous day.

 _"Did you really think they cared about you?”_  
Mizki recalled the messages Miura showed her, all of them about her.

_‘She’s so pitiful.’  
‘I don’t even care about her, so why is this boycott about her?’  
‘Did Mizki think she was special? She’s still embarrassing to look at.’_

Still remembering the comments from her classmates, Mizki stood up quietly, never getting Gumi and Len’s attention. Mizki grabbed her gym bag and walked to the door, intending to sneak up except Len turned around just to see her by the door. 

"Mizki! You too!?"

Gumi turned around quickly. Seeing her new friend walking away with her gym bag, the same friend she was fighting for in the first place, left Gumi to stare in disbelief. Mizki looked down quietly.

"Sorry." she muttered. Then she left, jogging away from the room, leaving behind her friends.

“You gotta be kidding me!!”

As he screamed, Len kicked the closest desk to him. Gumi flinched slightly to his rage before she walked towards Mizki’s desk. 

‘Why?’ she wondered. Opening the desk, she pulled out Mizki’s sketchbook. Skimming through the pages, Gumi found the drawing she was looking for. Her eyes widened as she saw the newly added details on the drawing of her. “My Best Friend” was written across the page, something Gumi knew wasn’t present before when she last saw it. Several chibis of her were added around the words, and Gumi saw how much she meant to Mizki. So why? Why did Mizki leave her like this? The boycott was planned for Mizki’s sake, and in the end, she left them to join the rest of the class. 

Droplets of water began to fall on the book, and Gumi dropped it while realizing how much she was breaking. She didn’t cry like this for so long, knowing the last time she cried was minutes before she fell in the river nearly two years before. The tears kept falling and Gumi couldn’t hold it in anymore. Len heard the cries behind him and he turned around, gaping at her briefly before he ran towards her. He grabbed her arm and pulled her up, eventually holding her in his arms. It had been a very long time since he last saw her cry like this, but he was willing to do his best like he did the first time she broke down in front of him. 

“Gumi, it’s okay, no crying,” Len said calmly. “It didn’t work, but I’m still here. Kokone is still supportive. Relax. We’ll figure out what went wrong soon.” Even if her cries didn’t calm down, Len continued to hold her and began to tell nonsense tales until he heard footsteps coming towards the room. He faced the doorway, waiting until he found the source of the footsteps.

“What happened?” Len asked, and Gumi, with her face coated in tears, turned her head to see. Her sobs ceased with her eyes widened as she saw her standing by the door. 

“It’s nothing,” Flower answered. “I told her I was not going to dance, that’s it.” Flower came towards them, and she brought her hand inside her gym bag, pulling out a handkerchief. “I said it yesterday,” she said as she passed her hankie to Gumi, who accepted it weakly. “We don’t know what will happen until the moment comes,” Flower stated as Gumi unraveled the handkerchief and covered her face. Len released his hold on Gumi and sighed.

“Why did everyone betray us like that?” Len asked. “I know a few kids weren’t willing to do this, but everyone else looked so eager.”

“Because,” Flower began to answer. “Miu knew the boycott was happening, so she went to everyone’s homes.” Both Len and Gumi stared in shock, taking in the information as Flower continued. “You began the boycott for Mizki, but I’m sure everyone else had different motives, such as wanting revenge towards her or simply wanting to spite her. Some students held grudges and were boycotting just to get back at her, like Sora who had her secret spilled or Ann who had her modeling career halted due to Miu’s words to her mother.”

“But the ones like Moke? Kokone? Everyone else?” Len asked. “I don’t think they’d do it out of pettiness.”

“Moke was pressured. Even I could see he was pressured to do this,” Flower pointed out. “But it seems Miu threatened him by coming to his home. Kokone too. She probably came to their homes and told their parents. She may as well promised to give them good grades if they performed."

“Then the others too?” Gumi question.

“Most likely threatened by Miu,” Flower answered. “She knows our secrets, so she most likely threatened to tell them to their parents if they tried to boycott.”

“She didn’t come to my house,” Len asked before looking at Gumi, who only shook her head, confirming Miu didn’t come. “What gives? Did she go to your house too?’

“Yes,” Flower said. “I still didn’t want to perform that stupid dance.”

“Wouldn’t she bother you?” Len asked. 

“I don’t care,” Flower admitted. “I’d rather do chores than do that dance.”

“But how did she know we were planning to boycott?” Gumi asked.

“Someone told her,” Flower answered. “Perhaps… Mizki may have said something. If Miu looks at her with such a deep stare, there’s no way Mizki could lie… she’s scared of her.”

“I see,” Gumi sighed. “She’s cruel. I’m not going to let her control me like she did to everyone else.”

“I see,” was all Flower could say before she sat down. She grabbed her book and began to read while Gumi walked towards the window, looking at the outside world. 

“Gumi, are you alright?” Len asked, coming closer to her.

“Yeah,” she answered. “I’m not going to give up just because she did this.”

“Yeah, but it’s clear now that no one will ever try to disobey her again,” Len pointed out. “She even got Mizki to betray us like that.”

“She used everyone’s weaknesses,” Gumi said. “That’s a cruel way of controlling the classroom, so I’m going to fight that. I’m going to do what I can to make others no longer scared of her.”

“I guess this is your new goal?” Len sighed. “Okay, I’ll help you out the best I can.”

“Of course you will,” Gumi smiled. “Thanks, pal!” 

Flower seemingly ignored them as she read her book, but she had listened, and she couldn’t ignore the fact that she was a bit intrigued by Gumi’s willingness to not give up. However, Flower decided to not take any part of this. All she could do was clean with them.

xxx 

After everyone left the gym, Flower, Gumi, and Len went straight to cleaning. The chairs were placed away at a fast pace before Flower left to open the drapes. As she did so, she looked down and noticed Gumi and Len ready to race over who could sweep the floors the fastest. She remained up above them, allowing herself to smile a little. Flower didn’t understand, but there was a charm Gumi was exposing to her surroundings that left Flower wanting to experience more of it. It had been a few years since Flower felt like this about anyone. 

“I won!” Len cheered.  
“You cheated!” Gumi cried out.  
“I’m the best!”  
“You suck!”  
“You’re a loser”  
“You’re a meanie.”  
“You were slow.”  
“Be quiet.”

“You seem to be getting along well.”

Her voice echoed throughout the gym. Gumi and Len turned around to face the entrance, and Flower looked down and spotted the feared teacher. 

“Open your eyes,” Miss Miura Mayuko spoke loudly. “Uniting the class is impossible.” The three students gazed at their teacher, feeling bitterness towards her and her words. “You may feel free to go against me,” she continued. “But you have no one to rely on. Not parents. Not teachers. Not friends either.” The three listened to Miu, with Gumi and Len not wanting to accept it while Flower waited to hear what else she’d say. “Also, don’t think I will keep quiet,” she spoke on. “To make sure you don’t try to plot something again, I’m assigning a supervisor to you three.” Turning around, Miu walked towards the gym doors.

“Please come in.” 

At that moment, she entered the room. Looking at her, Gumi and Len stared in shock while Flower kept her usual stoic look. She kept walking towards them until she stood right next to Miu.

“Let me introduce your supervisor, Sakurada Mizki.”

**Author's Note:**

> Changes so far:
> 
> Mayu is now Miu (Mew), though I seemed to have given her a fancy name. Reason: I try to think of vocaloid Mayu as a teacher, and honestly, I don't like the idea anymore. The biggest reason I did that when I was younger was because Mayu's name was very close to the name of the teacher in the drama (Maya). Now it's Mew/Miu.
> 
> SeeU's mom is now Kasumi, a CeVio character. Galaco still appears, but as someone else's mom and honestly, not appearing much (I think). The reason I did this: Kasumi is cute, and honestly I felt Galaco would be better suited as a mother to a less-sweet, more hotheaded girl, haha.


End file.
